Zakdoek van linnen rondom afgewerkt met een rand van kloskant met driehoekjespatroon c. 1925 - 1949

This linen square was made by the Koninklijke Kantwerkschool, a Dutch lace-making school. Can you imagine making something like this? The patience it must take! I picture the makers sitting together, talking and working as they passed the threads over and under to create that delicate edge. They would have been trying to get it just right. Even though the linen is plain, the patterned border transforms it. That triangular pattern is like a line of tiny dancers, or maybe even a set of teeth, giving it an unexpected energy. I think of artists like Ree Morton who also had a similar interest in the beauty of humble materials. It makes me wonder about all the hands that have touched it since it was made. And how craft traditions have been passed down through generations, each artist adding their own mark.