Giardineto novo di punti tagliati et gropposi per exercitio & ornamento delle donne (Venice 1554), page 15 (verso) 1554

This is a page from “Giardineto novo di punti tagliati et gropposi,” or “New Garden of Cut and Knotted Stitches,” printed in Venice in 1554 by Matteo Pagano. It’s made using a woodcut technique. Notice the repeating grid, populated with dense patterning. These were not just abstract designs; they functioned as templates for lacemakers and embroiderers, mostly women, who would have translated them into thread. Each tiny square on the page represents a stitch to be made. Consider the labor involved in the production of both the book and the lace. Pagano's woodcut relies on a commercial printing process, which itself depends on the division of labor. And each lacemaker's interpretation required hours of painstaking handwork. In its original context, this page testified to the social and economic importance of textile production in the 16th century. It collapses distinctions between high art and craft.