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Making Space for Lace

From 11 March to 11 June 2017 museum employees are publicly cataloguing and re-assessing the lace collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Not many people know that the Boijmans has a large collection of historical lace. The more than 2600 pieces, including some exceptional lace fans, have been hidden away in recent years. That is unjust. Lace is not only beautiful as a component of fashion but has also been highly valued as a costly material in religious services and in interiors in the Netherlands since the 16th century. The earliest examples in the collection were made in Venice in the 15th century. In the centuries thereafter France and the Southern Netherlands (now Belgium) were the most important producers of lace. There are dozens of kinds of lace, which differ in technique and style. Follow this link to learn more about different techniques in lace.

The basis of the museum’s lace collection was laid by the Rotterdam-born businessman Willem Hugo de Monchy, who donated parts of his collection to the museum from the 1950s. Since then the museum has acquired many special pieces from the lace-appreciation society, Het Kantsalet, and from private collectors.

Vlog

We are currently taking a fresh look at the lace items in our collection in order to get a better picture of the role that this aspect of the collection can play in the museum in the future. What makes the presentation Making Space for Lace unique, is that the process can be followed live in the museum. In the video blog below you can learn more about this project. Please note that the newest episode will appear at the top.

Making Space for Lace #7: Done! The reassessing of the lace collection in Boijmans is done. Lotte looks back at Alles aan Kant. How did it go and how did visitors react? What did you think of the project? More information
Making Space for Lace #6: The Results. Since the lace exhibition at Boijmans has been prolonged, Lotte talks to Ben, who is in charge of re-arranging the gallery, and with Mienke who can finally start the "LAMO procedure". Find out what that is, as well as getting the correct answer to last week's lace question, in this episode of Making Space for Lace. More information
Making Space for Lace #5: The How 2. In the fifth episode of 'Making Space for Lace' Lotte digs deeper into the techniques of lace - and even tries to make bobbin lace herself. More information
Making Space for Lace #4: The Facts. In the fourth episode of 'Making Space for Lace' Lotte investigates the holy grail of registration, gets the answer to last week's question, and furthermore has an extra surprise up her sleeve. More information
Making Space for Lace #3: The Where. In the third episode of 'Making Space for Lace' Lotte goes to the cellars of Boijmans to find out where the thousands of lace pieces used to be stored, before they were made public. More information
Making Space for Lace #2: The How. In the second episode of 'Making Space for Lace' lace correspondent Lotte investigates how the database of more than 2600 pieces of lace is being checked and updated to modern-day standards. More information
Making Space for Lace #1: The Why. In the first episode of 'Making Space for Lace' lace correspondent Lotte takes you on a trip to the lace collection of Boijmans to find out why the museum is investigating and reorganizing the lace collection. More information
Making Space for Lace: Vlogteaser. The staff members of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen are investigating and assessing the museum's lace collection in the galleries. Our 'Making Space for Lace' correspondent Lotte will take you the next few weeks behind the scenes in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen to follow this process. More information

Project Making Space for Lace

Because the collection will be investigated in the galleries, visitors are not only able to watch as the museum staff inspect and measure the pieces of lace and check their dates and places of origin, but they can also ask questions. On a few days visitors will also be able to bring along their own pieces of lace for assessment. Making Space for Lace is an excellent example of how the museum will work in the future in the Public Art Depot, the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility, where the public will be actively involved in the conservation process and will be able to watch restorations and other behind-the-scenes activities.

May we introduce…

Janneke Reedijk, re-assessment registrar and TMS registrar. Janneke examines, assesses and measures the lace, takes photographs and inputs the new data into TMS.
Janneke Reedijk, re-assessment registrar and TMS registrar. Janneke examines, assesses and measures the lace, takes photographs and inputs the new data into TMS.
Diteke Ekema, TMS registrar. Diteke inputs the new data into the collections registration system, TMS.
Diteke Ekema, TMS registrar. Diteke inputs the new data into the collections registration system, TMS.
Mienke Simon Thomas, curator of decorative arts and design. On the basis of the accumulated data, Mienke decides which pieces of lace we want to retain in the collection and which pieces we do not
Mienke Simon Thomas, curator of decorative arts and design. On the basis of the accumulated data, Mienke decides which pieces of lace we want to retain in the collection and which pieces we do not
Nora Leijen, decorative arts and design registrar. Nora examines, assesses and measures the lace, checks the data and takes photographs.
Nora Leijen, decorative arts and design registrar. Nora examines, assesses and measures the lace, checks the data and takes photographs.
Marthe Kes, Making Space for Lace project assistant. Marthe inputs new data and assists with unpacking and laying out the lace.
Marthe Kes, Making Space for Lace project assistant. Marthe inputs new data and assists with unpacking and laying out the lace.
Vera Jorissen, re-assessment registrar. Vera examines, assesses and measures the lace, checks the data and takes photographs.
Vera Jorissen, re-assessment registrar. Vera examines, assesses and measures the lace, checks the data and takes photographs.