The History of Lace

Step foot in just about any country in Europe and ask an authority on the topic, and they will tell you that lace originated from their soil and their culture. They will even have some type of documentation put together by some historian to bolster their claim too. It's the same everywhere you go on that continent.

You see, the history of lace is really up for grabs and there's one reason for that. That is that lace is so delicate that none has survived from its original makers. Just little pieces found here and there in different areas of the globe. Just enough in each country for the inhabitants claim they were the first.

But what about things like carbon dating, or other types of scientific methods for checking the age of historical objects? Isn't there some way to gather up all the information about these little pieces of lace that each country is holding, and find out which is truly the oldest?

Of course it can be done, and in fact it has been done. The winner actually goes to ancient Rome which ironically enough doesn't even have any pieces of lace. They do however have old wooden and ivory bobbins. Tools that are used to make lace that are about 2000 years old.

So does this mean that ancient Romans invented lace? Hardly so! You see, the Romans invented very little, other than perhaps newer advanced tools of war that they used dominate the known world of their time. This is why, ironically of all the countries clambering to be seen as the birthplace of lace, ancient Rome is not one of them.

So if you're tracing the history of lace you have two choices. One is to call it quits when your trail ends in ancient Rome. The other choice is to try to figure out where the Romans got it, and there are a few good possibilities to select from.

But even then some of the best of those possibilities lead to another dead-end where you then have to figure out where they got it from.

So a lot of historians once they leave ancient Rome on a wild goose chase to trace the history of lace, do so on a boat being piloted by ancient Phoenician traders.

They were the trading masters of their time who thousands of years ago used well-built shallow draft wooden vessels to transport and trade in any number of products throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa.

In fact ancient stone artefacts have been found that indicate that Phoenicians in their wooden watercraft may have even made it to the East Coast of North America. These same types of stone artefacts have them also making it to China.

So then just who did the Phoenicians get the lace from if this is indeed the actual original source?

Those who buy into the theory that it was Phoenician traders who brought lace to ancient Rome, all agree that for sure it didn't come from the Native Americans of the eastern coast of the North American continent. Rather that it most likely came from either China or ancient Egypt, up to 5000 years ago.

Now the Chinese had the advanced textile technologies. They are also known for blending textile production and art which is how undoubtedly lace came about.

However, ancient Egyptians were far more advanced in so many areas for their time. The problem is though, that of all the drawings and paintings to be found on the walls of Egyptian tombs, no one is seen wearing lace.

Litmans are leaders in the supply of fabrics and in particular exquisite Lace right across the world.