Strook zwarte machinale tule met schulpen aan één zijde en een ondulerend motief van bloemen en voluten c. 1925

This is a strip of black machine-made tulle with scallops on one side and an undulating pattern of flowers and volutes by Gustav Schnitzler. Imagine Schnitzler at the factory, perhaps a bit of a dreamer, watching this delicate lace come to life through the precise choreography of machines. The tulle, so fine and dark, it’s almost a shadow, adorned with those swirling blooms and scallops – a world away from the cold, hard metal that birthed it. I wonder if Schnitzler saw these patterns as a rebellion against the rigid grid of industrial production, a whimsical escape woven into the very fabric of everyday life? Like the Abstract Expressionists wrestling with the canvas, maybe he found freedom in the tension between the mechanical process and the organic forms, letting the lace cascade into existence, one loop and flourish at a time. There’s a conversation happening here, not just between man and machine, but across time, with artists like Anni Albers who explored the intersection of weaving and abstraction. It all reminds me that even the most delicate gestures can carry the weight of intention, echoing through the ages.