Description:
Bed rug (rugg) in wool (tabby weave) ground fabric, onot which is sewn a wool pile in an overall meandering, stylized floral design in shades of orange, dark and olive greens on a ground of shades of blue, and the initials "E B" stitched in the upper left, probably signifying the unidentified maker. 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. Used in England and Europe before their arrival in the New World in the early 17th century, bed rugs (along with coverlets and quilts) to provide warmth and decoration on the bed. While bed rugs could be imported or made domestically in this country, surviving New England-made examples appear in far greater numbers today. These bed rugs, which were primarily made in the Connecticut River Valley and other established New England communities, showed a woman's domestic and artistic abilities, and 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. This rug example has a wool ground weave onto which is sewn a dense wool pile that has been cut. The design depicts a modified Tree of Life motif from 17th-and 18th-century Indian palampores with its double-handled vase holding a bouquet of large flowers surrounded by wandering vines and flowers stemming from a branching, leafy base, and the abstracted carnations echo those seen on 18th century New England crewel embroideries. At some point after its creation, the bed rug was cut down significantly on the left hand side and along the bottom edge, perhaps to fit a smaller bed.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.576 |
