Strip of Bobbin Lace with Millet Leaflets in a Square Mesh and Fan-Shaped Shells

Strip of natural-colored Genoese bobbin lace. The repeating and symmetrical pattern consists of a braided grid of three rows of squares containing a series of fan-shaped motifs. These fans, or half rosettes, are alternately hanging and standing positioned and have an oval center surrounded by four or six leaves. The leaves are made in form stitch. The shell border along the bottom of the strip consists of larger fan-shaped shells. These are largely built up from braids, the small pointed lobes at the ends are made in linen stitch. The top of the strip is finished straight with a decorative border consisting of a row of linked openwork ovals in linen stitch and above that a straight border with a braided diamond grid. The pattern is made after a seventeenth-century example.