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Source Description
This Russian lace panel was likely used to embellish the end of a bathing towel. Textiles of this type are valuable for their fine lace work including ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in their society, and in this case, connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112486
label
Lace Towel End
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112486
contentType
object
title
Lace Towel End
description
This Russian lace panel was likely used to embellish the end of a bathing towel. Textiles of this type are valuable for their fine lace work including ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in their society, and in this case, connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.
date
c. 1700s–1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79877697
genreSpecific
Lace
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 26.5 x 41 cm (10 7/16 x 16 1/8 in.)
cul
Russia, Orel region
accession
1931.111
Source extras
tec
cotton or linen (est.) straight (continuous) bobbin lace; ground with interspersed motifs of plant and animal forms in plain weave outlined with gimp (heavy cord); applied silk (est.) ribbon
tombstone
Lace Towel End, c. 1700s–1800s. Russia, Orel region. Cotton or linen (est.) straight (continuous) bobbin lace; ground with interspersed motifs of plant and animal forms in plain weave outlined with gimp (heavy cord); applied silk (est.) ribbon; overall: 26.5 x 41 cm (10 7/16 x 16 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1931.111
collection
T - Lace
didYouKnow
Embellishing the ends of everyday towels was a common folk tradition in many cultures because it displayed the skill of the mother or daughter who created them.
citations
citation
Pushkin, B. M, B. M Pushkin, N. de Shabelsky, and N. de Shabelsky. <em>Exhibition of National Russian Art, 17th, 18th and Early 19th Centuries: Peasant Embroideries, Costumes, Headdresses, Hand-Woven Materials, Laces, Ikons, Articles of Silver, Copper, Etc.: Shown by Count and Countess B.m.-Pushkin</em>. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified, 1900.
citation
Valance, Aymer. "Russian Peasant Industries." <em>The studio: an illustrated magazine of fine and applied art</em><strong>. </strong>London: Offices of the Studio, 1893-1964. volume 37, 1906.
page_number
p. 241-248
citation
Sidamon-Eristoff, V. P., Princess. <em>Sobranīe russkoĭ stariny Kn. V.P. Sidamon-Ėristovoĭ i N.P. Shabelʹskoĭ : vypusk I-ĭ, vyshivki i kruzheva = Antiquités russes, collection princesse Sidamon-Eristoff et Mlle. N. de Schabelsko</em>i. Moskva, 1910.
citation
Holme, Charles, and Studio. <em>Peasant Art in Russia</em>. The Studio, 1912. Special No. London: "The Studio", 1912.
page_number
p. 3-11
citation
Gostelow, Mary. <em>Embroidery of All Russia</em>. New York: Scribner, 1977.
citation
Schwoeffermann, Catherine, Peter Klosky, and Merrill Oliver. <em>Goddesses and Their Offspring: 19th and 20th Century Eastern European Embroideries</em>. Binghamton, N.Y.: Roberson Center for the Arts & Sciences, 1986.
citation
Efimova, L. V., R. M. Belogorskai︠a︡, and Santina M. Levey. Russian Embroidery and Lace. Translated by A. I. Ilʹf. 1st English-language ed. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1982.
citation
Kelly, Mary B. "Embroidery for the Goddess." <em>Threads Magazine</em> 11 (June/July 1987).
citation
Kelly, Mary B. Goddess <em>Embroideries of Eastern Europe</em>. Winona, MN: Northland Press of Winona, 1989.
citation
Cook, Bridget M. <em>Russian Lace Making</em>. London: Batsford, 1993.
citation
Grusman, V. M., Elena Madlevskai︠a︡, and Karina Solovʹeva. <em>Collection Chabelskaya: une Russie fin de siècle : portrait de femmes en costume traditionnel</em>. 2010.
citation
Lovings-Gomez, Lauren. “The Lost Narrative of Natalia Shabelsky’s Collection of Russian Textiles.” In <em>Hidden Stories/Human Lives: Proceedings of the Textile Society of America 17th Biennial Symposium</em>, October 15-17, 2020. UNL Commons. Accessed 10/20/2021 from <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/">https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/</a>. doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.tsasp.0117
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:56:23.927000
sourceId
112486
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Lace
med
cotton or linen (est.) straight (continuous) bobbin lace; ground with interspersed motifs of plant and animal forms in plain weave outlined with gimp (heavy cord); applied silk (est.) ribbon
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7e95a87e9cc569f6