Sri Lanken Lace Many of the items in my lace collection are of unknown provenance, however there are a few pieces that I know are from Sri Lanka. Two are tourist pieces, one bought by my sister in 1991, the other by a friend in February 2004, a third piece I bought from the* Power of Hands* display at the Knitting and Stitching show in London in 2008.
The *Power of Hands Foundation* was established in Gonne in southern Sri Lanka after the devastating tsunami in 2004. Women were trained to work bobbin lace and to make up items using the lace which can be sold to raise much needed funds. Initially sales were mainly to tourists, however in 2005, with the support of Andrea Galer and other members of the London film an fashion community, contact was established with a film company, and Power of Hands is now making collars and other lace items for period films such as Jane Eyre. The amount of lace required for such films is more than can be provided by the hand workers, so the company has sourced high quality machine lace which is used alongside handmade bobbin lace. (Of the five other pieces of Sri Lanken lace in my collection, two are machine made.) I would love to know when and by whom lace was introduced to Sri Lanka (Ceylon)? An early note I have was that it was introduced to the country by missionaries (I assumed British ones); my sister in 1991 was told by the tourist board that it was the Dutch who had introduced the craft, my recent research indicates that it was more likely to be a Portuguese import and that the Sri Lankan name - beeralu - is Portuguese, but that is contradicted by another source which says the word is a local one! (The statement that lace was introduced to the country in the 15th century can certainly be discounted.) Some say that the lace was taught first to fishermen's wives, others that it was the aristocracy who first learned the craft. Today I read that it was Malays who introduced the craft. That was the first I had heard of any lace connection with Malaysia - so I am thoroughly confused! Does anyone have any reliable information? Gil - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/