Woven Overshot Coverlet by an unidentified maker

Date1800-1850

MediumOvershot-weave, warp & weft tabby weft, cotton; pattern wefts, red, black and blue/ green homespun wool

DimensionsW:85 1/2"; L:97"

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Matthew J. House

Object number1967-161

DescriptionThis is an overshot coverlet, produced on a simple four-harness loom, and woven in a variation of a tradition pattern commonly known since the early 19th century as "double chariot-wheels"; red, black, and blue/green pattern wefts are good colors-obviously handspun domestic wools; warp and tabby weft of 2/ply natural homespun cotton. The coverlet is woven in 3 strips with pattern well matched at vertical seams. The simple geometrical pattern is one of rectangular tables, circles, and diamonds.
ProvenanceCoverlet was said to have descended in the Travis-House families, both of whom left Virginia for Texas shortly after the Civil War. Tradition has it that the materials were grown and processed at Mr. Matthew James House' ancestral home. * Nothing about the coverlet would suggest that it could not have been made in the south, but whether in Virginia or not is anybody's guess.