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Saba lace or Spanish Work, as it was known in the early period, is a handcrafted art of needlework designs which began as a cottage industry on the Caribbean island of Saba at the end of the 19th century and grew into one of the leading industries on the island at the turn of the 20th century. Until the 1950s, lacework was one of the key sources of revenue for the island's economy. The handicraft is still practiced and is a feature of tourism for the island, having been the focus of two books on the subject, as well as a winner of the Prince Bernhard Caribbean Culture Prize.

History

With few educational opportunities available for women in the 19th century on Saba,^[1] Mary Gertrude (née Hassell) Johnson was sent to study at a Venezuelan Catholic convent and learned the intricate craft. She returned in the 1870s and taught others how to make the drawn-thread patterns, made by pulling and tying threads from cotton cloth into lacework designs.^[2]^[3] When mail service with the outside world was established in 1884, the women of Saba turned their craft into a mail-order industry. Without initial client lists, the women created their own, by writing letters to American companies each time merchandise from the United States was received on the island.^[2] By the era of World War I, when the island population was around 2,000 people, 250 women were working in the cottage lace craft.^[1] By 1928, Saba lace sales were garnering $15,000 annually from the U.S. alone and had an established reputation for fine craftsmanship.^[2]^[4] Through the 1950s, lacework was one of the leading sources of income for the economy.^[5]

Cultural significance

In 1995, a graduate student from the University of Texas, Eric A. Eliason, came to Saba to research Saban nationalism for his graduate thesis. He recognized that for the women of the island, Saba lace was a large part of their cultural heritage and spoke to their ethic for hard work and passing on tradition. Urged by local women to document the craft, he gathered samples of the lace, making copies of the work on a photocopy machine made available by the tourism department. In 1997, he published The Fruit of Her Hands: Saba Lace, History & Patterns.^[4] Publication of the book revitalized both interest in the craft and a desire for preserving its heritage. Women began using the book to learn new patterns.^[5]

In 2010, with the help of students at Brigham Young University, Eliason prepared a second book, Saba Lace Patterns, which documents both the creators of designs themselves and their signature patterns.^[5] Throughout the island there are establishments which sell clothing and table linens which feature Saba lace, which has become an important cultural icon driving tourism.^[2] Means and ways to protect Saba lace has been part of consultations held by the Netherlands in their implementation of UNESCO's initiatives to protect and preserve iconic cultural treasures.^[6] In 2014, Saba lace and the "lace ladies" were awarded the Prince Bernhard Caribbean Culture Prize.^[7]

References

Bibliography

Johnson, Will (1 April 2014). "Education on Saba in bygone years". The Saba Islander. The Bottom, Saba. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
Wright, Samuel (2016). "Preserving Tradition on the Island of Women and Lace". Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah: BYU Department of Humanities. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
"Arts & Crafts: Saba Lace". Saba Tourism. The Bottoms, Saba: Saba Tourist Bureau. 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
"Consultatie immaterieel erfgoed in Caribisch Nederland" [Consultation on intangible heritage in the Caribbean Netherlands]. UNESCO Netherlands (in Dutch). The Netherlands: United Nations. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
"Laced with history". The Daily Herald. The Bottoms, Saba. 27 August 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
Harris, Jessica (November–December 1999). "N is for Needlework". Islands Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 6. Santa Barbara, California: Islands Publishing Company. p. 138. ISSN 0745-7847. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
"Prijzen: Cultuurprijs" [Prizes: Cultural Prizes]. PBC Caribbean (in Dutch). Willemstad, Curaçao: Kantoor PBCCG. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.