The Rauma Lace Collection Exhibition is now open to the public at Marela!
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The Rauma Lace Collection exhibition is now open to the public at the Rauma Museum’s Marela. The exhibition showcases the types of lace that were bobbin-laced in Rauma during different time periods, who the lace makers were, and the significance of lace-making as a livelihood. On display are lace pattern books used by lace makers, selections from the museum’s extensive collection of Rauma lace samples, photographs, and stories of master lace makers from various eras. The exhibition also highlights tools essential to lace-making and their local manufacturers.
– Rauma lace is one of our most requested themes, and it has been fantastic to create an exhibition based on this unique local material. There is nothing else like it anywhere else in Finland. Since 1938, Rauma Museum has had a lace department in the Old Town Hall. Due to the building’s renovation and closure to the public last year, the lace collection has now been relocated to the temporary exhibition space in the Shipowner’s Home, Marela. This exhibition will remain in its current location for several years, says museum curator Hanna-Leena Salminen.
In 2023, the Rauma lace-making tradition was included on Finland’s National Inventory of Living Heritage, highlighting its role as a cultural practice passed down from one generation to the next. Lace-making is also a global phenomenon that connects Rauma’s artisans to an international network of lace and lace-makers around the world.
– The roots of the lace-making tradition stretch back nearly 300 years. By the mid-1700s, high-quality lace was already being made in Rauma for sale. Lace-making was a form of cottage industry, and unlike officially recognized crafts, it has left little formal documentation. Therefore, uncovering the secrets of lace-making requires extensive research, with information scattered across various sources. Between 1750 and 1850, lace-making was the most important branch of cottage industry in Rauma. At its peak, there were 300 to 400 skilled lace makers in the town,” Salminen adds.
Live lace-making demonstrations will take place at Marela on Saturdays and Sundays from June 7 to August 31, between 10 AM and 5 PM. Guided tours of the exhibition, included in the admission fee, will be offered during the summer – more information at www.rauma.fi/museo. At the beginning of Lace Week, a set of activity tasks designed for children will be released. These tasks can be completed independently while visiting the exhibition.
