Images(2)

Linen Bed Sheet, C K

Dateca. 1770

Owned by Caroline FitzGerald King (1754 - 1823)

OriginEngland or Ireland

MediumLinen, 59 warps x 48 wefts per inch, with blue silk embroidery threads

DimensionsOL 142 1/2" x OW 104"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1952-665,1

DescriptionThis is a bed sheet made of fine, bleached tabby-woven linen. It consists of three selvage-width panels, butted and seamed at selvages. The top and bottom of the sheet are finished with a 1/4" hem. One corner is marked with a coronet and the initials "C K", both of which are worked in blue silk cross stitches.
Label TextThe owner of this bed sheet, Caroline King, was one of the wealthiest heiresses in Ireland at the time of her marriage to Sir Robert King, the 2nd Earl of Kingston. Today she is perhaps most famous for her connection to Mary Wollstonecraft, whom she hired to tutor her two daughters, Margaret and Mary.
MarkingsCoronet over the initials "C K"
ProvenanceThis sheet was obtained from the family of William King (1894-1958). Mr. King was formerly Keeper of Ceramics and Porcelain at the British Museum, and a descendant of the Earl of Lovelace. His great-great-grandmother was Caroline Fitzgerald King, also known as the Countess of Kingston (1754-1823).