A new TRC donation: white cotton nanduti lace dolly, c. 2010, Paraguay. Photo: Shelley Anderson.The TRC has two recent donations of a very special type of lace from the South American country of Paraguay. This lace has its own National Nanduti Day, celebrated on the second Sunday in October. On that day the city of Itaugua, considered the home of nanduti lace, organises a festival whereby women wear traditional blouses and skirts decorated with nanduti lace.
Nanduti means “spider web” in Paraguay’s indigenous language, Guarani. There are many folktales about nanduti’s origins. These usually involve a young woman who discovers her dead lover’s body, covered in a shimmering cloth. Looking more closely, she realises the cloth is actually made of spider webs, and she vows to make him an equally beautiful shroud.
Less poetically, it’s believed that 17th-century Spanish colonisers brought the technique of lace making to Paraguay, where the indigenous population made it their own. Jesuit missionaries, who prized lace for their ecclesiastical textiles, are believed to have spread lace making via their missions. Indeed, one of the earliest references to indigenous Paraguayan women’s skill in needlework is from a 1610 Jesuit document, which mentions decorated towels.
Technically, nanduti lace is related to Tenerife lace (sometimes spelled Teneriffe, and known as Sol lace, or Roseta Canario or Calado Canario), which originated in the Canary Islands. It is a type of needle lace known for its round, medallion-shaped motifs, comparable to nanduti lace forms. The TRC has several examples in its collecion, including a stunning, late 19th-century lace collar (see below; TRC 2020.0462).
Four blue and white nanduti lace coasters, cotton, 2025, Paraguay. Photo: Shelley Anderson.
The Mayor, Peter Heijkoop, receives a copy of the Atlas from the author. Copyright Joost Kolkman. 
