Description:
Cotton and linen whitework coverlet in three panels embroidered in loops and cut loops with thick cotton threads in a style known as "candlewicking" because of the thick thread's resemblance to a candle's wick, and the the initials "H C" with geometric design on both sides and "1811." The coverlet has a stylized filled flower inside a square on point with a filled scalloped outer edge surrounded by a three-line crenelated cross and spirals extending from the points both inside and out in alternating directions; three borders: 1. undulating vines with filled leaves and grapes crossing at the top and tied with a bow at the bottom, which are separated from the center by a single line at the top. 2. a filled oval chain supporting filled double oval swags with styllized flowers inside and ending in elaborate single tassels, and two tassels in the bottom corners; 3. undulating vine with curving spirals alternating inside and outside on all four sides; a 2" fringe made of many tiny balls worked in place; and two cut-out corners . According to the donor, this coverlet was made by his great-great-grandmother, "Hannah Edwards / nee Carpenter / Lived in Bath, N.Y. (Steuben County)." The daughter of Jesse Carenter (1740-1815) of Goshen, NY, who moved to Elmira, NY, about 1806, Hannah Carpenter (1791-1875) married George Cunningham Edwards (1787-1837) in 1812. Edwards was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and first had a career as a lawyer and author first in Elmira, NY; the family moved to Bath in 1821, where Edwards was County Judge of Steuben County from 1826-1837. After his death, Hannah Carpenter was the head of her household in the 1840 census, living with ther son George in 1850, and with her daughter Clara Roe Dudley in 1860 and 1870. The period term for this kind of embroidery is "knotted counterpane" as found in a c.1854 Illinois reference by Gail Bakkom and referred to by former Winterthur textile curator and author, Susan Swan. White bed coverings, such as this example with white embroidery or surface design, are referred to as "whitework," and frequently appear on examples dating to the early 19th century. Although more difficult to keep clean, white domestic textiles, especially those made from cotton, could be easily laundered.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Cotton; Linen Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.442 |
