Belgian war lace tablecloth

 

This needlelace image of St George fighting the dragon is part of a tablecloth made for Queen Elisabeth of Belgium as part of the Belgian war lace initiative. The project was set up in 1914, at the start of the First World War, to provide aid for the Belgian population. As a result of the German invasion and occupation of Belgium, the British had established a naval blockade to cut off German supply routes, but this also led to a shortage of food imports. In response, the Commission for the Relief of Belgium (CRB) was set up. This body, with the help of thousands of volunteers, organised the importation of food aid and provided a basic meal of soup and bread for millions of people over the four years of the war.

As part of the relief work, lace committees were set up to buy lace from local lacemakers but, by 1915, a shortage of thread from Ireland and Britain was limiting the amount of lace that could be made. It was then that the CRB rules were amended to allow the importation of a certain weight of thread and the export of the same weight of lace to France, Britain and the USA for sale. This provided the thread the lacemakers needed and opened up new  markets for the sale of the lace. The Brussels Lace Committee (BLC) oversaw the entire lace project and employed about 45,000 lacemakers as well as professional designers.

The tablecloth was designed by the well known Belgian artist Isidore de Rudder and incorporates images of four saints. St George and St Elisabeth of Hungary represent the Belgian King and Queen and St Gudula and St Michael are the patron saints of Brussels. There are also references to battles in which the King took part and the coats of arms of 16 Belgian cities particularly affected by the fighting.

The borders include ferns and wildflowers referencing the forests and fields of Belgium. As well as seaweed to remember the breaching of the dykes at the River Yser in 1914 which had halted the German advance. The outer border of the tablecloth includes medallions of flowers and mushrooms symbolising qualities such as rebirth, humility and immortality. The tablecloth was made at the convent lace school in Erenbodeghem and presented to Queen Elisabeth by the BLC, at the end of the war, on her return to Belgium from exile. It is now held in the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.  

Reading the thread

 

I’m delighted to have a chapter in this fascinating new book about textiles edited by Lesley Millar and Alice Kettle. Entitled Reading the thread: Cloth and communication it considers the abilities of thread to record or communicate a story. The contributions are wide ranging including the history, construction and future of threads and their use in contemporary practice.

My chapter builds on my research into the Battle of Britain commemorative lace panel made by the Nottingham machine lace company, Dobson and Browne, at the end of the second world war. In this study I compare it with the handmade needlelace tablecloth made for Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, as part of the Belgian war lace initiative during the first world war. Although both these lace works seem quite different in technique and manufacture, there are many similarities between them. Both were designed as artworks rather than everyday lace and both incorporate iconography and symbols representative of the events of their time.

Importantly for the theme of the book, both lace artefacts communicate a story, literally and metaphorically. They both include the facts and dates of their respective wars but also the hidden story of the resilience of lacemakers and the power of lace to transcend war and result in two beautiful war memorials. The book will be published on 23 January by Bloomsbury, so not long to wait now.