Description:
Bed rug (rugg) made up of three pieces of natural wool foundation (tabby weave) of a wool blanket decorated with large scrolling flowers in wool darning stitches in yellow, orange, and light blue on a ground of two shades of dark brown, with a brown and blue fringe. The darning stich follows the curves of the design contrasting with the straight darning stiches of the background. The rug is seamed vertically; the bottom is shaped to fit the bed. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, "rugg" meant a coarse woolen cloth or bed cover; textiles were generally too valuable to be placed on the floor. 'Bed rug' is now understood to mean a heavy needleworked bed covering, with a pile or smooth face, with or without shaped ends, worked in polychrome, or rarely monochrome wools on a woven foundation. Bed rugs were primarily made in the Connecticut River Valley and other established New England communities; they were used to provide warmth and decoration in cold New England bedchambers. These rugs, which showed a woman's domestic and artistic abilities, were made of home-produced materials from wool gathering, spinning and yarn dying. Most surviving rugs have surface covering designs and many have a tapestry-like effect; the tree-of-life and floral designs are similar to patterns found on contemporary English and East Indian textiles and wall coverings.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.096 |
