- Double-weave Coverlet
(Fringe on all sides): 3 1/2in. (8.9cm)
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By the time of the American Civil War, most coverlets were produced by power looms in a factory-like setting. Such production allowed for wide weaves that eliminated the need for a central seam. By the late 1860s artificial dyes (aniline) were in use, providing a whole new color palette.
Technical notes and description: Cotton warp and cotton and wool weft Jacquard double-weave cloth. This red, blue, brown, and green coverlet boasts a central rectangular medallion framed by a wreath of flowers and supported in the four exterior corners by an eagle fronted by a shield and bow and arrows and holding an olive branch in its beak. The whole is bordered by a wide band of florals.
Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.
ProvenanceMiss Ima Hogg; Estate of Miss Ima Hogg, 1975; given to MFAH, 1976
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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