Introduction

The tradition of lacemaking in Russia dates back several centuries. Early examples of openwork patterns were woven from gold and silver threads, sometimes incorporating pearls and precious stones. In several central provinces, the art of lacemaking was mastered by craftswomen in landowners' workshops. Patterns were created using various methods: bobbin weaving, crocheting, knitting, or needlepoint.

In the second half of the 19th century, several bobbin lacemaking centers existed in Russia, located in the Vologda, Ryazan, Oryol, Tver, Kostroma, St. Petersburg, and other provinces.

The Mariinsky School of Lacemakers opened in St. Petersburg in 1883. Its graduates became mentors to craftswomen in various provinces, contributing to the development and improvement of the craft, for example, in the Vyatka region.

Exquisite lace was also woven at the Nyuvchimsky factory in the Ust-Sysolsky district of the Vologda province, but materials and samples were brought from Vologda.

Every housewife knew how to crochet or knit lace. Knitted patterns were not as elegant as bobbin lace, but they beautifully complemented homespun linen items such as towel and tablecloth ends, shirt hems, aprons, and headdresses. Such items were common among the Besermyans, Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Permyaks, Mordvins, Mari, Udmurts, Chuvash, and Tatars.

The collection of the Russian Ethnographic Museum includes a wide range of lace-making tools, pattern samples, as well as clothing and home furnishings decorated with lace. Most of the artifacts date from the late 19th to the 20th centuries.