Images(2)

Valance, Copperplate Print

Date1775-1785

MediumLinen-cotton, copperplate-printed; linen fringe; linen-cotton top edging; linen lining (fiber identification by microscope)

Dimensions76" X 16" overall including fringe. 72" wide at top tape Selvage W: 30 7/8" 52 warps per inch X 48 wefts per inch.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960-174

DescriptionThis is a bed valance constructed of a red plate print on white cotton-linen plain-weave ground. The valance is shaped with two deep drops or scallops on the outer ends with two shallower drops between. The edges are ornamented with original tape and linen fringe. One element of the printed design consists of an Asian empress followed by a page bearing her train. Another vignette includes two Asian musicians playing horn and bells. The vignettes or groups are separated by undulating arborescent branches. The valance is lined with linen. The valance retains nail holes across the top where it was tacked to the bed frame. The holes are hidden by tape along the upper edge that is not stitched across the top edge to allow access to the nails.
Label TextMost fashionable beds of the eighteenth century were enclosed by curtains and topped by narrow valances that formed a decorative heading and hid the curtain rods and other hardware. This valance is part of a set that would have included at least two additional exterior valances; some beds also had interior valances around the top and base valances at the bottom. The swagged style was especially fashionable in the second half of the eighteenth century.
ProvenancePurchased from Connecticut-based dealers, Avis and Rockwell Gardiner.