Counterpane, stamped floral design

Date1790-1830

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Alamance County (probably)

MediumLinen warp/ cotton weft textile, paint or pigment

DimensionsOH 81 1/2"; OW 73 1/2"; selvage width 31 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1979-391

DescriptionRectangular counterpane, seamed together from 2 1/3 widths of handwoven cotton and linen, then stamped or block printed in charcoal (outlines), red flowers, and green-grey leaves. Individual printing blocks of floral sprigs and undulating vines are combined in a design with 5 joined diamonds forming a lopsided X in the center. This is surrounded by isolated floral sprigs and a wide inner border of flowers and vines combined in a zig-zag configuration. The outermost border is composed of blocks having flower units on a vermiculate ground. Fringed on the end and one side; turned hems on other two edges. Unlined.
Label TextThis printed bed coverlet came out of an old home in Snow Camp, North Carolina. The spread had descended in the family, who were Quakers, and was thought to have been made by a family member. The printing technique relates to that of another North Carolina piece used to back a quilt in the Colonial Williamsburg collection (1982-172). The second piece came from a woman in Greensboro, not far from Snow Camp.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of Roderick Moore, Ferrum, Virginia, who got the spread from a Quaker family in Snow Camp, North Carolina. According to Mr. Moore, the owner "took it out of an early 19th century or late 18th century North Carolina walnut high chest, which was original to both the home and the family.... I was told that the family had settled in the area in the 1770's and had lived in their present house since the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. The family history is that it was made by a member of the family."