"In quelle trine morbide". Merletti dell'Ottocento dalla Collezione Arnaldo Caprai

Immagine: 
13/12/2008 - 17/05/2009
Museo Napoleonico

An assortment of lace from the Arnaldo Caprai Collection in Foligno, considered to be one of the most important private textile collections in Europe.

The collection is the result of canny buying and a fifty-year long passion. It comprises some 4,500 pieces of lace that date from between the 16th and 19th centuries and is the largest single collection of this particular type of artistic expression. The rich variety of techniques represented and an equally wide range of uses for which the items were intended – such as edgings, collars, fichus (triangular scarves), cowls, mantillas, fans, parasols, cuffs and handkerchiefs - make this collection truly unique.
The exhibition provides an overview of the various types of European lace in all their elegance, shapes and forms, created over a period of time that runs through to the end of the 19th century. A small but valuable collection held by the Napoleonic Museum will be presented to the public during this event, at the heart of which are twenty pieces of lace that once belonged to Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. One of the most important pieces is a fine black lace mantilla presented to the former empress in 1876 during a visit to Spain.
The 16th century was undoubtedly the golden age of lace. In the century that followed, Marie Antoinette, who was later to provide the inspiration behind Eugenie's attempts to revive the pomp and splendour of the past, managed to bring about a fashion revolution with her passion for lace-collars used in conjunction with fabrics that were light in both weight and colour. Disdain for the use of lace was just one consequence of the stormy revolutionary period as it was deemed too aristocratic and it was Napoleon who revived the lace industry, using state funds to inject generous sums and obliging all those who attended court to wear lace accessories. From then on, Queens, Empresses and Princesses all used soft pieces of lace to embellish not only their own clothes, but those of their children too, especially during the second half of the 19th century when the two sovereigns, the Empress Eugenie and Queen Victoria, were jointly responsible for lace reacquiring its historic luxurious status.
In the ever-changing fashion climate that prevails today, the Caprai Collection at the Napoleonic Museum is an inspiration to all, providing a glimpse of the past that might make a return in the future.

Information

Place
Museo Napoleonico
Opening hours

Tuesday-Sunday 9.00am-7.00pm; the ticket office closes half an hour in advance
closed on monday

Entrance ticket

full price € 5,50
reduct € 4,00

Information

060608 every day 9.00 am-9.00 pm

Type
Exhibition|Applied Arts
Web site
Organization
Zètema Progetto Cultura
Sponsored by

Gruppo Tessile Arnaldo Caprai; Cruciani; Arnaldo – Caprai Viticoltore in Montefalco, Banche Tesoriere del Comune di Roma: BNL – Gruppo BNP Paribas, Unicredit Banca di Roma, Monte dei Paschi di Siena; Vodafone

With technical contributions from

La Repubblica

Closed
Lun

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