Woven Tied Beiderwand Coverlet in "Oak Leaf" Pattern

Date1851

Artist/Maker Joseph Turnbauch (ca.1829-after 1851)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Sugarloaf

MediumRed, dark blue, and olive green wools with white cotton

DimensionsSide 1 (shirttail hem at top turned under): Rhand side: 87 1/2" excluding irreg. fringe and 91 1/2" including fringe. Bottom: 81 7/ 8" excluding fringe and 89" including fringe.

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr.

Object number1991.609.3

DescriptionThis is a single-woven seamless coverlet of red, dark blue, and olive green wools with white cotton with applied fringe at sides and bottom. The interior design consists of a repeated spray of four oak leaves with the words "OAK LEAF" radiating from the centers. Small flower designs fill spaces between. The side and bottom borders are the same: a twining grapevine over a small repeat of snowflakes and leaves. Woven into each of the lower corner blocks is "MADE.BY./JOSEPH TURNBAUCH/SUGARLOAF/LUZERNE CO/FOR/[BLANK]/PENN.1851."
Label TextNineteenth-century coverlet designs incorporating the name of the pattern were not commonplace, but a fair number of examples, in addition to tihs one, have been noted. The primary field motif seems closely related to a variety of stylized quatrefoil"oak leaf" designs used in applique qultiing at about the same period.

InscribedThe words "OAK/LEAF" are repeatedly woven throughout the field of the coverlet.
MarkingsWoven into each of the lower corner blocks: "MADE.BY./JOSEPH/TURNBAUCH/SUGARLOAF/LUZERN CO/FOR/[BLANK SPACE]/PENN.1851".
N.B. This weaver's last name is reputedly spelled "Turnbaugh" in census records, but it repeatedly appears on his coverlets as "Turnbauch".
ProvenanceHistory prior to AARFAM's donor is unknown.