N.B. an english version of this book is to be published very shortly. Titles there may differ somewhat from those given here:

This publication accompanied an exhibition in the Castello Sforza in Milan of a hundred examples of lace and embroidery from the Arnaldo Caprai Collection. Despite the subtitle, the articles concern embroidery as well as lace. Arfter a general introduction by Doretta Davanzo Poli, the articles on embroidery are as follows:

Pilar Benito Garcia, 'Embroidery with animal motifs in the Spanish Royal Collection'.
Includes 16th-century pieces produced in the East and associated with the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, two 16th-century cushions from the Escurial, a cloth of state for Charles IV embroidered by Juan Lopez de Robredo, an armchair cover of 1784 embroidered by Juan Caraltò.

Dilys E. Blum, 'The American Bald Eagle: a symbol for a new nation'.
Covers a variety of textiles, mostly belonging to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, including embroideries, a linen damask and quilts, all featuring the bald eagle. Since 1971, however, the use of the bald eagle as it appears on the Great Seal of the United States has been restricted solely to educational or official use.

Silvia Carbonell i Basté, 'Animal Symbolism in Assisi Work Embroideries, Spain, 16th century'.
The pieces described, previously unpublished, feature human figures as well as animals. They are all attributed to Avila nnd date from the second half of the 16th and the early 17th century.

Doretta Davanzo Poli, 'Animals in the laces and white embroideries of the Arnaldo Caprai Collection'.
A survey of the motifs on some of the pieces.

Ako Ito, 'Flight in Embroidery. Bird motifs on Japanese embroidery (from the 7th to the 20th century)'.
Examples from various collections, including two pieces of the 7th and 8th centuries from Nara.

The catalogue of pieces from the Arnaldo Caprai Collection includes cutwork and Dresden work, but most are of 19th century date. The latter include finely worked handkerchiefs. There are also some pages of illustrations of embroidery equipment.

For further information contact Anne Wanner wanner@datacomm.ch