Hooked Rug

Dateca. 1875

MediumCotton and wool on burlap with added canvas backing

Dimensions90 X 84 inches (228.6 x 213.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1983.611.1

DescriptionThis is an almost square hooked rug with a central medallion of flowers, surrounded by scenes in each of four corners: house with horse and sleigh; sailing ship; mill by stream with red birds in trees; man in forest with deer, wolf, and dog. The backing consists of three machuine-seamed pieces of green cotton canvas, and the rug is bound with a fancy-weave black tape. Neither the backing nor the binding appears to be original to the rug.
Label TextRug hooking appears to have begun in New England and southeast Canada in the 1840s, but the lack of a suitable foundation fabric hampered the development and spread of the technique until jute burlap was introduced in the mid nineteenth century.
This unusually large hooked rug was found in Vermont in 1926. Although the central floral medallion is reminiscent of many stamped and pre-printed patterns that became increasingly available during the second half of the nineteenth century, the regional flavor of the corner vignettes suggests that they were devised by the unknown maker.
ProvenanceThe rug was purchased by the donor from an unidentified dealer in an antique shop in Burlington, Vermont, in 1926.