Dated lace on synagogue textiles
One of sources which can contribute to closer knowledge of lace production in Bohemia and to dating of preserved lace are archives of State Jewish Museum in Prague and its collection containing a whole range of dated synagogue textiles including lace. Individual character of some lace initiates a supposition about presumption of its origin in Jewish community.
Archive materials in the first place so called pardon taxes from the period 1685 - 86 give information about Jewish lace merchants, not about products, but because at lots of merchants is besides products tax estimated also manufacturing tax, it is possible to assume that some of them were producers of lace as well. In the product specification silver, golden and white lace is mentioned.
Synagogue textiles are in the Bohemian area specific materials. The basic types include the temple curtains and the torah wrappings of which we can find more than 6.000 pieces from the Bohemian and Moravian area in the collection of the State Jewish Museum. Only some of them originated in professional embroidery workshops. It is surprisingly heterogeneous collection with a wide extent of expressions as far as amateur work, there is even not missing the level which is similar to the handicraft expression of the Bohemian countryside.
A part of these textiles stands almost out of reach of the conventional classification - there are mixed up professional work with amateur ones in such extension that it is beyond common estimation criterion. In spite of it the textiles at which is possible to trace the lace application constitute continuous and materially rich development lines. The oldest material coincides with the beginning of lace production on our soil.
Dating of synagogue textiles has its specific feature - almost all pieces carry embroidered mostly multilined inscription indicating donatorís and his family name, the year of presenting is marked and sometimes - in the case of piece overwork, the date of restoration as well. At lace is reliable dating only there, were later modifications and changes did not occur with the possibility of new lace supplement implantation.
At the lace age estimation and for the determination, if it is not a younger supplement, is decisive if older bars and lace hems were often replaced by newer waved bars. The preserved lace in function of hem is thus universally original. All the lace used in synagogue textiles is made from golden or silver metal lace which was also used for embroidery. Application of the similar material for lace about the Jewish origin of this lace. More convincing is its design, narrow almost stereotype motivic repertory and consistency of lace motifs with embroidery motifs. Since the end of the 16th century the unchanging composition canon and ornament survives in curtain and wrappings composition going more through a number of variants than development phases what reflects the Jewish sense for tradition and strong relation to traditional values leading to a certain conservatism at the total conception of synagogue textiles.
It is possible to differentiate roughly three groups of lace. In first
one there are narrow tapes used in function of bars. The lace of this group
is connected by the ornamentation with simple motifs - the basic is mostly
the torchon or honeycomb ground spikes, grouped into shell or rosette patterns,
goblet motifs carried out by linen stitch, the border of separating picots.
The curtain presented by psalm singers to the Pinkas Synagogue in in 1602 is decorated by golden metal lace worked by 3 pairs - the runner meandering and pricked on eyelet. The motif consists in this case of zigzag scallops joined to the straight border decorated by picots.
The wrapping from the Pinkas Synagogue, dated 1662, is decorated by golden lace. It is the matter of advanced lace technique. Goblet motifs realised by linen stitch inserted in loosely worked knitting of the honeycomb that is the motif which is repeated in slight variants on synagogue textiles lace more often
In the decoration of the curtain from 1697 in the Staronova (Oldnew) Synagogue the lace serves as a filler between applied fields and creates (quite isolated case) the frame of the inscription surface stitched from lace tape with one variant of goblet motif.
The wider lace belongs into the second group with more advanced ornamentation mostly dated after 1700. The strips, 7-9 cm wide, with very loosely worked ground bear motifs of goblet or lobular blossoms and free lined up tendril with drawing stressed by thicker thread in a point ground manner. At this lace there is striking the connection of motifs with the application in curtains of which closed ornamental canon is so specific that the determination of its origin is necessary to seek in Prague Jewish embroidery workshops. The curtains decoration style from the period 1592 - 1609 appears again in variants in 1658 - 1697. The lace where the ornamentation is derived from these applications it thus emerges with delay and it is likely the work of the Jewish lace makers. The curtain from 1713 in the Staronova (Oldnew )ogue is remarkable. The decoration of the centre surface is made of bobbin lace from silver metal lace complemented by little metal roundels. In Bohemia about the introduction of bobbin lace technique is not spoken until 19th century. Of course it can not be excluded that the curtain was complemented lately.
The upper and lower hem of the surface consists of net type bobbin lace.
After 1700 the curtains are also dated. Their ornamentation stands in close proximity to present Christian parameters - they bear complicated bar ornamentation which combines embroidery with applique, weaved bars, the bobbin lace supplies the filling of ornamental motifs and independent strips.
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The bar ornamentation decorating the curtain centre by motifs with golden bar are applique on bobbin lace net of diamond hitches with picots. |
The curtain from 1738 presented to the Staronova Synagogue by David Openheim¥s widow and Wolf Spiro¥s daughter, members of families having the highest rabbinical degrees in the country. The lower part of the curtain is decorated by wide lace strips (13.5 cm and 20.5 cm) - motifs deposited into the loose ground are expressed by thicker thread. |
After 1800 the lace on curtains and wrappings is very frequent decoration element. It is interesting that it turns up more often on countryside curtains than the curtains of Prague synagogues. The bobbin lace production spreads in this period into all lace areas and the patterns variability respects region customs. Specifics in the Jewish ornamentation is decreasing.
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| Here the lace complements applique rococo motifs |
Synagogue textiles from the collection of the State Jewish Museum in Prague. Photographs from the archives of PhDr. Ludmila Kybalova. Photograph authors:
J. Brodsky and E. Medkova
