Strip of needle lace with volutes and peonies
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Strip of natural-coloured needle lace: Brussels gauze lace. The repeating pattern consists of diagonally placed flower twigs and asymmetrical C-scrolls on a fine ground with single twisted meshes: a gauze lace ground, sown with knots. A flower twig with several large flowers alternates with a flower twig with many small roses and berries. Along the lower side the pattern under each twig with the large flowers consists of an elongated horizontal C-scroll, with at the bottom an ornamental border of linked circles with different rosettes in ornamental stitches. Solid work made with festoon stitches with nuances where the denser filling is made with satin stitches (a festoon stitch variant). Relief contours of widely spaced festooned thread bundles (cordonnets). Many cordoned rings decorate the lace. The scalloped edge is formed by linked flowers under each horizontal C-scroll and smaller tilted C-scrolls in between under which always one large peony hangs.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description