Description:
One of two English sepia (brown) copperplate printed, plain weave cotton (toiles de jouy) fragments decorated with a scene from "Blindman's Bluff" with three young women, one of whom is wearing a blindfold searching for the other two. These pieces were a gift from Mrs. Miller to Historic Deerfield, which she received from Gillette Griffin; they were given to Mr. Griffin by a member of an old Deerfield family. Although Mrs. Miller thought they were in the little brown house on Albany Road and possibly came from the Fuller family, Peter Spang thought they were from the Stebbins-Allen descendants. In fact, Ms. Margaret Harris Allen, whose mother descended from Asa Stebbins (1767-1844), gave two pieces (HD F.662) which appear to be from the same fabric and are identified as part of a bedset owned by Asa Stebbins. One of the HD F.662 pieces includes a running pattern with both "Blindman's Bluff" and "Judgement of Paris" scenes. Ms. Allen also gave HD F.354A (5 toile pieces decorated with scenes of children playing), which came from Dennis Stebbins (1778-1842), son of Joseph Stebbins (1749-1816), both of Deerfield; Ms. Miller also gave a similar piece, HD F.871. The figures are not children, indicating an earlier period of "game" scenes. A complete design is not formed by joining this piece with F.870A. Condition is good, but very brittle.
Label Text:
By the end of the 18th century, choices in textiles proliferated with improved technology and expanded trade. The British perfected printed textiles to give the effect of painted figures. The earliest toile (printed cotton) here, entitled, "Blind Man's Bluff," was once a part of a set of bed hangings that belonged to Asa and Emilia Stebbins of Deerfield. The fabric was printed with an engraved plate to create a single, large repeat.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Copper; Cotton Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.870 |
