Ñandutí
Ñandutí
Ñandutí, from a Guarani word, ñándutî, meaning "spider web," is very fine white lace similar to a woven spider web. A handicraft of Paraguay, it is estimated to date back to the eighteenth century. Its original form was an adaptation by the indigenous people of Paraguay of the fine ornamental garments introduced by the Spanish during the colonization of America. Ñandutí differed fundamentally from European laces in that the latter are made by removing threads from the fabric, while ñandutí is made by weaving threads on a frame separate from the fabric. In the early twenty-first century it is made with a great variety of stitches and is considered to be a local cultural expression.
See alsoTextiles, Indigenous .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sanjurjo, Annick. Ñandutí: The Flower in the Spider's Web. Organization of American States, 1978.
Elena Moreira