Wool Making

Processing wool in Spain by Pieter de Molijn, 1651. Here, workers are busy processing raw wool, probably in northern Spain. In the foreground the wool is being washed. In the centre the wool is dried and packed in bails. The Spanish wool trade was dominated by Dutch merchants, especially after the peace between Spain and the Republic in 1648. This was where they bought the raw material for the fine cloth known as laken. Both Leiden and Haarlem were major production centres for this fabric. On loan from Instituut Collectie Nederland, Amsterdam.