Embroidery and Lace of the Azores

The embroidery and lace of the Azores form one of the richest chapters of the archipelago’s textile craftsmanship, spread unevenly across the nine islands and marked by techniques that vary from one island to another. Alongside the embroidered cloths and the lace, the Azorean tradition includes rare ornamental arts, such as composition in fish scale and modelling in fig-tree pith, which give this body of work an identity of its own within the Portuguese panorama.

Embroidery and lace of the islands

Azorean embroidery is chiefly women’s work, carried out in the home and organised, on some islands, into small production units. It is on the island of Terceira that it stands out most, distinguished by the combination of stitches such as Richelieu and eyelets; on São Miguel the matizado shaded embroidery is practised, which emerged in the 1930s and is recognisable by its shades of blue and its rural and floral motifs. On Faial there still survives the embroidery in wheat straw on black tulle, golden in appearance, whose tradition goes back to the eighteenth century.

The most admirable lace of the archipelago is made on the islands of Pico and Faial. This is a practice that took hold in the nineteenth century, developed as women’s work to supplement the domestic economy, above all in periods of agricultural crisis. Its designs imitate the local flora — passionflowers, bunches of grapes, blackberries — combined with geometric elements, and are applied to pieces of linen and cotton. These arts belong to the broad Portuguese textile tradition, sharing parallels with the embroidery of Madeira, another major expression of Atlantic island craftsmanship.

Fish scale and fig-tree pith

Two singular arts complete the body of work. The fish scale starts from a humble material bound to the maritime life of the islands: the scales are dyed in water, cut out meticulously with scissors and assembled into compositions, mostly plant-based, in which each scale imitates a petal or a leaf. The result is flowers and arrangements of great delicacy, laid out symmetrically or freely.

The fig-tree pith consists of modelling the soft, light white pith taken from the inside of the fig tree’s branches, with which the craftsman composes little figures and scenes — floral motifs, windmills or sailing boats. This art is particularly associated with the island of Faial, with origins in the mid-nineteenth century, and the oldest pieces, attributed to the craftsman Euclides Rosa, are preserved in the Museu da Horta. Like so many other island expressions, it is thought to have been born in the setting of the convents of the city of Horta.

Recognition and certification

To defend the authenticity and quality of these productions, the Regional Government of the Azores created the collective brand Artesanato dos Açores, which covers embroidery, lace, weaving, fig-tree pith, fish scale and other products typical of the archipelago. The certification distinguishes pieces made according to traditional methods and helps to sustain the continuity of know-how transmitted above all among women, across generations.

As a body of living know-how, these arts form part of the Portuguese intangible cultural heritage and belong to the identity of the Azores, alongside the landscape, the gastronomy and the religious festivals of the archipelago.