Bedcover
1795/1820
Medium
Center: cotton, plain weave; embroidered with silk, cotton, and wool in buttonhole, chain, cross, single cross, feather, Roumanian, satin, single satin, stem, and twined double running stitches; Squares: cotton, cotton and linen, and linen, plain weaves; block, copperplate, and roller printed
Dimensions
238.5 × 252.2 cm (93 7/8 × 99 1/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
133632
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This bedcover includes an embroidered center square and over 30 different English and French printed cottons ranging in date from about 1780 to 1810. Because the United States’ commercial textile industry was in its infancy during the late 18th century, there was a great dependency on foreign textiles. The center of the bedcover was embroidered in 1795 while printed cotton fabrics were pieced together at a later date. This bedcover represents decades of careful saving of fashionable imported pri...