LACE.
Kanten , BUT. Rends (gold or silver), Dentelle, . . . Fn. MALAY.
Spitzen, . . • GER. Krushewo, . . . Rus.
Merletti, Fizzi, . . IT. Encajes Sc.
Lace is a term applied to two very distinct products, one consisting of gold and silver wire, or even silk thread, woven into ribands for em broidering hats and uniforms ; the other is a transparent network, in which the threads of the weft are twisted round those of the warp. It may be made of flax, or cotton, or even of gold and silver thread, and has usually a pattern worked upon it, either during the process of making the lace, or with a needle, after this has been completed. Much lace is made by machinery, but the highly esteemed genuine articles are made by hand. Lace-knitting is considered to be a German invention ; but lace worked by the needle is of far older date, and was probably an eastern invention, though it does not appear to have been known or practised in India. Lace is, however,
made in the territories of the raja of Travancore ; and the Madras Central Committee, in their final report, stated that the lace of Nagercoil, though knit by natives of the country, was equal to the best French lace. This lace, when seen at the Great Exhibition, was much admired, and some said that it must have been made in France. Samples of six different kinds were sent. The broad black lace on wire ground, and the broad white and fine lace on Brussels ground, and of the nature of Bedfordshire lace, were highly approved of ; the broad being thought worth 4s. and the narrow worth 2s. a yard.—IIPCulloch's Dictionary; M. E. J. ; Royle's Arts, etc., of India, p. 503.