Description:
Bed rug sewn or embroidered with 6-ply woolen yarns in olive-green, orange, and yellow. These yarns, which form the decoration, contribued to the warmth these kinds of bed coverings offered, and were stitched or embroidered (using a needle) onto a coarse, plain weave linen or wool ground. At the top center edge is spelled out "J.A.H./ 1810." According to family tradition, this bed rug was made by Anne Hartley of Webster, Massachusetts. Bed rugs first appear in 17th-century probates from eastern Massachusetts. Later 18th- and early 19th-century extant examples with identifiable provenance come largely from western New England, including the Connecticut River Valley. Bed rugs were produced in two varieties. One was a more serviceable, mass-produced kind that was exported to the colonies (Lancaster, England, was one center of rug production). The other kind was a more decorated bed rug such as this example, maed at home by one or more women. Rugs in this latter category are often marked with initials and/or a date at the top edge. Bed rugs typically have curved lower edges, and straight corners at the top edges, although known examples exist with straight corners and slitted corners. Bed rugs, like better known floor rugs, could be made with a pile (cut or uncut), or else stitched in a decorative darning pattern like this example. '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. The motifs seen on this and many other decorative bed rugs depict a flowering plant or tree, sometimes potted, with a wide border of meandering flowers. The 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+2014.19.72 |
