RETICELLO

The " reticello " is the needle laces ancestor, but built on a preexisting support, some parts of which belong at the completed job.

This embroidery has ancient origins while the laces are born around the XV° century.

The first one to make his appearance was the cut stitch.

It represents the first attempt to get some voids and therefore the first essential footstep to the development of the lace.

The principle was easy: cloth was cut in determined points and perforations contours were strengthened with the blanket stitch.

With increasing of perforations, both in number and in dimension, it was reached another development: the "Reticello".

In reticello a certain number of threads are eliminated, contours are strengthened, the threads remained are dressed again with blanket stitches and other threads are launched through created voids, building with them ornamental motives.

Reticello is a geometric workmanship delimited by the original fabric threads.

The reticello was very diffused between the XV° and the XVI° centuries.

In the XVI° century a new evolution, was born the " stitch in air", it was worked pulling threads as temporary support and building embroideries on them.

Initially motives remained of geometric character because all execution possibilities were not clear yet.

Subsequently the lace lost geometric rigidity and got completely free forms: "Venice stitch with edges in relief " (says "gros point de Venise), "point de France" etc.

In the XVII° century all gentlewomen and gentlemen suits were richly adorned by these laces.

For more than two centuries, laces will compete in elegance with rich embroideries in silk and gold.

These masterpieces execution, that required patience and precision, was entrusted to dames (up to the XII° century the embroidery was performed only by men) and to nuns.

Numerous artists created models for laces, repeatedly published on presses.

email: ilricamo@libero.it

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