Exhibit
Day’s End: Personal Glamour Exposed
As strong as it is delicate, Armenian needlelace, an ancient and living form of intricate needlework, evokes fields and mountains of home and connects ancestral lines dispersed throughout Armenian lands and diasporas worldwide.
Made with knots and loops of cotton or linen thread, the lace’s distinctive interlacing patterns, thought to trap or confuse evil spirits and intentions, also appear on ancient Armenian architecture and stone carvings, depicting Earth-honoring elements of culture and place to protect and adorn the sacred.
Through this exhibition featuring exemplary works in Lacis Museum’s collection, we can imagine the Armenian needlelace makers’ stories as we celebrate their immense skill and handiwork, their exuberant creativity, and their exceptional persistence.
Our original founder, Kaethe Kliot, grew up in the ways of needle and thread.
Later, as a great appreciator of diverse world textile arts, she had a sense that Armenian needlelace was something special; perhaps this is why the LMLT permanent collection is home to several hundred rare and fabulous Armenian needlelace pieces.
We are humbled and grateful to continue to receive donations of Armenian needlelace from the public to this day.
Though we may never know their names, we can imagine the Armenian needlelace makers’ stories as we celebrate their immense skill and handiwork, their exuberant creativity, and their exceptional persistence.
Download the exhibition catalog (PDF).
Download the exhibit press release (PDF).