

Bobbin and Needle Lace. European intangible cultural heritage
Cataloging and photography project for the recovery of bobbin lace as a craft and opportunity for social interaction.
Description
In 2021, the first phase of the project promoted by the research group begins COMEIN- UCM (Communication, Methods and Innovation) of the UCM with the high-resolution raw photography of the pieces from the Manuel Bartolomé-Cossío Textile Pedagogical Museum of the UCM and the cataloging of these laces. At this time, work was carried out on the creation of a web portal for the international dissemination of the Museum's collection, thus seeking to enhance the social dimension of the project, in collaboration with OIDFA - Organization Internationale de la Dentelle aux Fuseaux et à l'Aiguille, lace makers' associations, their teachers, material suppliers, museums and local administrations sponsoring Lacemakers' meetings and promoters of temporary exhibitions in municipal museums and learning centers.
OIDFA promotes research so that old lace-making techniques are recovered and do not remain only in pieces that can be seen in museums, especially European ones; It convenes an international congress every two years, which rotates through the different countries of the EU. It publishes four magazines a year in which its members tell about their experiences, hold exhibitions, call for competitions and give conferences around the world. online and in person.
Local cultural associations, in collaboration with Spanish town councils, hold meetings open to the public between lace makers, suppliers and the general public, which promote the teaching of lace in cultural or private centers and exhibitions in municipal museums.
Project for the recovery and transfer of knowledge of bobbin and needle lace as intangible cultural heritage.
The making of bobbin lace, since its beginnings in Europe in the 15th century, was conceived as a collective work. Lacemakers always worked in groups, as we find in old paintings and photographs in which lacemakers were seen with their little worlds working together at the door of a house. A transfer of knowledge took place: the girls learned to make bobbin lace from their mothers, grandmothers or neighbors, while they shared confidences, gossip and laughter.
The socioeconomic aspect of the model must be highlighted. The work of the lace makers provided direct economic resources to the families, the men were the ones who sold the lace pieces in the nearby towns and in the heat of this activity a parallel market of suppliers developed that connected with the lace makers and provided them with bobbins, pins, threads, rods for fans, drawings and cuts. Later, when the work of lace makers became professional, to meet a growing demand, small workshops were formed in which the group atmosphere was maintained. With mechanization in the 19th century, this economic model declined.
Currently, classes in cultural centers and different schools continue to be a reason for socialization that connects the surrounding public and suppliers continue to sell their products at lace makers' meetings and in stores. on line. There are also a good number of websites that allow us to buy pieces of recently made lace and old lace, as well as new designs (chopped) or books, among others.
The master lace makers interact with their students, outside of classes, from their web pages, which include tutorials for making the proposed cuts, connect them with lace museums in different parts of the world, announce future meetings of lace makers, intensive courses of two or three days of different techniques and, ultimately, they stay connected with their students in the periods between classes.
At the recent meeting of bobbin lace makers promoted by the Dehesa Vieja Cultural Association, in San Sebastián de los Reyes, in 2023, more than four hundred lace makers from the Community of Madrid and other Autonomous Communities have participated, accompanied by their teachers and eleven suppliers of threads, pins, bobbins, chopped and fan linkages. More than a dozen annual or biannual meetings are held in the Community of Madrid.
Objectives
- Enhancement of collections of bobbin lace that are part of our European cultural heritage and that are not accessible to the public.
- Putting into social and economic value the activities of the master lace makers, who keep this tradition alive and transfer their knowledge to new generations; in addition to contributing to the therapeutic value of the practice of lace.
- Use of new technologies and social networks to show collections from public or private institutions that are difficult or impossible for public access.
The lace makers' meetings connect them, with their teachers, the surrounding public and the suppliers that They sell the materials to make the pieces: chopped, bobbins, threads, pins, fan rods, etc.
Development
Heritage research and conservation
- «The invisible Heritage of the Public Universities of the Community of Madrid» in the Collective Book of the COMEIN-UCM research group: Methodologies and innovation for the study of communication. Editorial Fragua, Madrid 2023.
- Participation in European Heritage Days. December 2023. I Conference on citizen participation: Cultural Heritage Networks in the Community of Madrid. Round table 1: Knowledge transfer
- Video report of III bobbin lace meeting in San Sebastián de los Reyes. CAM.
Citizen participation, training
- Bobbin lace courses in cultural centers, senior centers and associations.
- European and national meetings, publications, competitions and congresses on bobbin and needle lace
Artistic creation and sale
- Creating cuts for new lace pieces, selling books, new and old lace
Education and Dissemination
- Research into forgotten techniques
- Photographed in high definition in raw of the lace pieces, Cataloging, inventory and dissemination of these
cultural tourism
- Bobbin lace exhibitions in local cultural centers, churches, convents and municipal museums
Financing
At this time they lack financial resources to advance the research project but they have the selfless collaboration of OIDFA that guarantees the correct cataloging of the lace pieces and also the collaboration of the UCM, for the use of the editing rooms and its latest generation audiovisual equipment with the aim of photographing the pieces in high definition.
Those who participate
- Researchers from the COMEIN-UCM group and COMEIN Scientific Association
- Collaborator: OIDFA
- Support: City councils and different cultural and lace-making associations