Bilros Museum in Peniche
Bilros Museum in Peniche
If you want to travel to the world of this secular art that is to weave the Lace of Bilros, you must visit the Bilros Museum in Peniche, very close to the Church of S. Pedro. This space is recent but preserves an art that counts more than 400 years in the county!
From cushions, bobbins, lace threads and antique pieces donated by families from the land, you can see everything, including the application of lace and its techniques in clothing, footwear and even jewelery. The reasons for the rents generally vary between waves, boats and fish, being visible the influence of the sea in this tradition that emerged from the hands of the fishermen’s women as a form of extra income.
In the museum room you can also admire a beautiful work by the 17th century painter Josefa de Óbidos, who had connections to the village. And do you ask what the painter and the bobbins have in common? Well, the painting in the museum is the oldest iconographic representation of Peniche’s bobbin lace!
It is said that the rents will have arrived in Peniche through commercial exchanges with the sailors arrived from Flanders, in Belgium, and that it was the Marquis of Pombal who here encouraged the production of rents as a luxury item.
What else should you see?
But of course, if you want to know everything about this art, the Bilros Museum is a must-see, but be sure to also visit the Bilros International Lace Show, which has been held every year in Peniche since 1994, with the aim of enhancing the lace woman and her art, as well as allowing the sharing of experiences between artisans dedicated to this know-how.
An event in which you can enjoy hundreds of lacemakers working live and which has dozens of foreign exhibitors who show the various techniques associated with this type of textile crafts.
