Mezza Mandolina

Elisa Ricci: Old Italian Lace Vol 1 Needle Lace, pg 38 "There is a variety of mesh-work very seldom although several designs for its manufacture are to be seen in an old pattern book, Isabella Parasole's Studio delle Virtiose Donne published 1597, the work was known as mezzo mandolina and is a net of irregular mesh, sometimes left plain but more often embroidered with little leaves in matting stitch which fill the square mesh and join it to the others so that the background can hardly be seen between the interwoven figures."

Levey fig 98. Agnolo Bronzino. Portrait of Isabella de'Medici. 1540. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Also Elegant Web.
Detail
Levey fig 103. Unknown artist, portrait of Elenor of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de'Medici,1540s. Kunsthistorishes Museum, Vienna.
Ricci. Ritratto di Eleonora di Toledo (1550 circa). Berlino - Museo dell' Imperatore Frederico.
Detail
Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist, c.1575-80. She wears a network partlet decorated with seed pearls. The ruff is embroidered with drawn thread work and bordered with needle lace. Cambridge University Old Schools.

Detail
Levey fig 57. Bronzino (school of) Portrait of a Lady 1560s. Her veil is trimmed with needlelace points in gold thread. Her smock is decorated with openwork and needlelace points. National Gallery, London.
Detail Portrait of an unknown lady, attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, c. 1605-10. She wears a white silk doublet with red ribbon points at the waist and a red velvet petticoat with a covering of what is possibly "mezza mandolina" a type of netting, ina design of cobwebs.
Detail 1 Detail 2
Levey fig 74. Mor (school of) Portrait of a Young Spanish Woman. 1560s. Net oversleeves of Mezzo Mandolino, Prado Museum, Madrid.

Detail
Ricci. Quadrati di modano ricamati a punto a tela. Triangoli a mezza mandolina. Le punte di modano ricamato a punto a stuoia, finite con merlettino a fuselli.

Levey fig 98. Agnolo Bronzino. Portrait of Isabella de'Medici. 1540. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Also Elegant Web.	Detail Levey fig 103. Unknown artist, portrait of Elenor of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de'Medici,1540s. Kunsthistorishes Museum, Vienna. Ricci. Ritratto di Eleonora di Toledo (1550 circa). Berlino - Museo dell' Imperatore Frederico.	Detail Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist, c.1575-80. She wears a network partlet decorated with seed pearls. The ruff is embroidered with drawn thread work and bordered with needle lace. Cambridge University Old Schools.
Detail Levey fig 57. Bronzino (school of) Portrait of a Lady 1560s. Her veil is trimmed with needlelace points in gold thread. Her smock is decorated with openwork and needlelace points. National Gallery, London.	Detail Portrait of an unknown lady, attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, c. 1605-10. She wears a white silk doublet with red ribbon points at the waist and a red velvet petticoat with a covering of what is possibly "mezza mandolina" a type of netting, ina design of cobwebs.	Detail 1 Detail 2 Levey fig 74. Mor (school of) Portrait of a Young Spanish Woman. 1560s. Net oversleeves of Mezzo Mandolino, Prado Museum, Madrid.
Detail Ricci. Quadrati di modano ricamati a punto a tela. Triangoli a mezza mandolina. Le punte di modano ricamato a punto a stuoia, finite con merlettino a fuselli.