Copperplate Print

Dateca. 1761

MediumCotton (tabby weave)

DimensionsOverall: 40 7/8 x 108in. (103.8 x 274.3cm) Other (Repeat): 76 3/8in. (194cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1953-138,1

DescriptionCopperplate print, sepia, pastoral scene with shepard playing flute and woman spinning with a distaff among broken columns with farm animals at the edge of a stream; dogs chasing a stag separate this scene from the one below, in which a peacock, hen, rooster, chicks, and ducks are seen near a carved urn on pedestal and a ruined tomb with a figure of a hunter. Printed in sepia. It is belived that this version of the print is copied from an earlier English print by R. Jones & Co from 1761.
Label TextEnglish printed textiles of a large scale were typically referred as "furnitures." By 1842, The British Register of Designs designated that all prints over 12 by 8 inches were to be considered "furnitures." While this was stated over fifty years after this piece was created, it stylistically remains true for earlier periods.

Wealthier British and American consumers purchased these large prints for bed curtains, slip covers, etc, often making a room all matching or "en suite."