Piece
Unknown Artist
ca. 1830–40
Medium
Cotton
Dimensions
L. 19 x W. 16 inches 48.3 x 40.6 cm
Classification
Textiles-Printed
Culture
British or American
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Sloane Coffin, 1926
Accession Number
26.265.135
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming printed cotton textile fragment, simply titled *Piece*, dates to around 1830–1840 and hails from either British or American workshops. Measuring 19 by 16 inches, it showcases delicate motifs of birds and flowers—a popular decorative theme in the early 19th century that evoked the beauty of nature amid rapid industrialization. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, it exemplifies the era's textiles, gifted in 1926 by collector William Sloane Coffin. Printed on cotton using techniques like woodblock or early roller print...