Whenever I make lace in a public place, someone is curious about when bobbin lace was first made, and I trot out my story about King Henry VIII of England - that lace does not appear on portraits painted during most of his lifetime. His daughter, Elizabeth I, on the other hand, was painted many times prickly all around with lace. Then I always ask my audience if they know who Henry VIII was. I have asked little Inupiat boys from remote Alaska villages, I have asked city teenagers oozing pop culture, and now I have asked Navajo kids in dusty, worn-out cowboy boots this same question, and they have all answered "Yes!" with instant enthusiasm, "He was the king of England with all the wives." By this time, the adults are interested too, and we all have a fun conversation about the dates of his reign and how they compare with the discovery and settlement of North America. Give it a try sometime. I would love to hear how the conversation develops in other parts of the world.
A disclaimer: I'm not an art expert! I just love to have something to hang my dates on, and Henry VIII is very convenient, and entertaining too. And I love to look at art. I have looked carefully at the portraits that I have come across and I only remember once seeing one with a small amount of lace. Has anyone on this list seen contemporary portraits of Henry VIII with much lace? Sally Four Corners, New Mexico > From: lswaters...@comcast.net > To: lace@arachne.com > CC: lswaters...@comcast.net > Subject: [lace] The Tudors - costumes > Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:54:31 -0600 > > I haven't seen this year's installments, left off last year just at the > Kathryn Howard stage, in the year 1540. The first early pattern books don't > mention 'cutwork' until 1542 - and they were basically embroidery patterns. > The first real reticella patterns didn't - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
