912 margaret f. rosenthal
Imported Fabrics in Venice
Cotton imported from the east brought such wealth to Venice that it was
called herba de oro (golden grass). the most common cotton fabrics were
fustagni [fustian], which were a mix of wool and cotton fibers, and bomba-
sina. linens such as tela di rensa, which was imported from rheims, or tela
cambrada, a less refined linen imported from Cambrai, were used to make
luxurious undergarments or shirts. linen fibers were purchased in bulk
and woven and embroidered, typically by female family members. the
most expensive Venetian fabrics were those which were heavily brocaded
with gold yarns and threads. Cloth of gold, or restagni, was reserved tech-
nically for the doge and dogaressa, even though some patrician women
wore gowns made from cloth of gold.71
Women’s Work in the Textile Industry in Venice: Lace and Silklace embroidery upon net and linen, with and without the counting of
threads in geometric designs for cutwork, was the predecessor of needle-
point lace first practiced by women in Venice. so too, lace with free-mov-
ing designs of punto in aria and punto tagliato a fogliami for bobbin lace
were unique to Venice.72 Punto in aria lace was created with needles; the
few warp threads were cut and drawn out of the fabric to give the impres-
sion that it had been worked without a foundation.73 With the diffusion
of the mulberry tree from sicily and andalusia to northern italy, rural
women unwound cocoons of silk, combed them, spun them, and sold silk
thread to urban merchants.74 in general, lace-making over the course of
the first half of the 16th century was considered a noble woman’s activ-
ity. But by the first quarter of the 16th century, on account of the many
lace-making manuals published in Venice by Zoppino and the prolific
publisher mathio Pagan, more and more lace fabrics began to be used
in clothing and in furnishings on the commercial market. needle lace
evolved from complex cutwork embroideries; bobbin lace was applied to
71 isabella Campagnol Fabretti, “the italian renaissance,” in Jill Condra, ed., The Green-
wood Encyclopedia of clothing through World History, vol. 2: 1501–1800 (Westport, Conn.,
2008), pp. 13, 15.
72 margaret harrington Daniels, “early Pattern Books for lace and embroidery,” The
Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin club 17.2 (1933), 9–13; Doretta Davanzo Poli, Il Merletto
Veneziano (novara, 1998).
73 santina m. levey, Lace: A History (london, 1982), p. 21.
74 Ferraro, “the manufacture and movement of goods,” p. 94.