Maltese Lace, History & Mystery, Four Centuries of Bizzilla
Kite Group, 2019, Price: €120.
Consiglia Azzopardi has created her lifetime’s magnum opus. Maltese Lace, History & Mystery, Four Centuries of Bizzilla can be recognised as a pillar for the future in what we need to preserve in the field of Maltese Melitensia. Its well-written and bountifully illustrated 674 pages describe history, technique, creativity, excellence and also nostalgia.
The 16 chapters allow the reader to freely move around the book’s script and focus on what he or she requires or takes a fancy to.
For the academic, it is an ultimate study; for the dilettante it affords charm and diversion. For us all, this book is the greatest memorial of specific achievement at international level of a sophisticated, ingenious creativity unquestionably reached by the people of the Maltese islands.
I do not think there are many books that will give us a specific description of ‘Lace in Men’s Clothing’ or ‘Of Merchants, Bishops and Silk Laces’ but this book with corresponding illustrations has it all. Of course, there are chapters on women’s lacy costumes and fashion involving the subject of the book over the centuries.
There is more, a great deal more: the chapter entitled ‘Getting to Know Dun Giuseppe Diacono’ is a tribute to the priest who contributed so much skill and energy to enhance a livelihood for a large number of potential and eventually successful women taking up the lace-making profession mostly as an essential livelihood.
Canon Salvatore Bondi also gets right and proper praise for his entrepreneurship in developing the lace industry in Gozo. There are others: I see the names Scicluna, Meilak and the Vella Habers, who all feature. There are the de Traffords whose contribution to the marketing of local lace was considerable. The book quite rightly praises the integrity of Joseph Busuttil who stood by authenticity while having to face machine-made imitations offered to him for his shop.
I think we can call Consiglia Azzopardi’s book ‘the Bible for all Malta lace enthusiasts’
It is not the scope of this review to tell the whole story but I shall quote a piece of Consiglia’s script which will certainly stimulate the memory of our living older generations.
“It would be impossible to discuss lace and merchants without mentioning Carmela Cassar, another Gozitan who managed to work her way to the top of the lace scenario and acquire for herself the title of ‘The Lace Queen of Malta’.”
The brilliant full-length depiction of Carmela Cassar wearing the Maltese faldetta was painted by Edward Caruana Dingli, the top Maltese society portraitist of his time, and is illustrated in the book.
Through Carmela’s shop in Kingsway, Valletta, fine examples of lace, made in both Malta and Gozo, found their way into the arms of European royalty, many of the aristocracy, and both near and far away connoisseurs all around the world.
Consiglia clearly armed herself well and was clearly able enough to tackle this hefty work. In her case, her doctorate covering the subject truly deserves to be hailed by one and all. Her book abounds with a plethora of design and quality; the clerical and armorial are all represented with the finest of examples and so is imaginative and creative artistic design. If there was any doubt about it before, she has clearly defended the fact that high-quality lace is surely an art form.
Allow me to wander for a moment: it is good to know where inspiration and discipline come from. We can feel the special loyalty and appreciation Consiglia rightly holds for the island of Gozo. That said, Consiglia has, in my opinion, embraced the teachings of Santina Levey who died in 2017.
Santina, while at the Victoria & Albert Museum, produced what her obituary in the London Times described as ‘the Bible for all lace enthusiasts’. I think we can call Consiglia Azzopardi’s book ‘the Bible for all Malta lace enthusiasts’.
Finally, I wish to salute Gordon Pisani and the Kite Group for the impressive publication, and also René Rossignaud whose photographs, among the other illustrations, are visually decipherable and truly outstanding.
Published by Kite Group. Available from www.kitegroup.com.mt (free delivery) and leading bookstores.