type of guipure lace (in which the design is held together by bars, or brides, rather than net) introduced into Malta in 1833 by Genoese laceworkers. It was similar to the early bobbin-made lace of Genoa and had geometric patterns in which Maltese crosses and small, pointed ears of wheat were incorporated. After 1851, when it was shown at the Great Exhibition, Maltese lace was widely copied at other lace centres, including Bedfordshire, Eng.