Needlework Rug

Date1901-1948

Maker Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.) (1874-1948)

MediumWool

DimensionsOverall: 46 1/2 x 47 1/2in. (118.1 x 120.7cm)

Credit LineGift of the John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, Fund, Inc., through the generosity and interest of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd, and members of the family.

Object number1996.BH.397

DescriptionThis square, needlepoint rug consists of nine squares, each with a naturalistically rendered sprig of flowers on a beige ground. The flowers portrayed are bellflowers, morning glories, Easter lilies, hibiscus (?), dogwood, water lilies, irises, calla lilies, tulips. Each square is surrounded by a blue curvilinear vine with a light blue border. The rug is surrounded by a thin beige border and a wider periwinkle blue border.

Each square was worked as a separate piece along with its section of the outer, and then sewn together. The needlepoint is worked entirely in tent stitch in wool thread. Seventeen shades of yarn were used: two blues, four greens, two beiges, white, two pinks, maroon, two yellows, three purple, grey, orange.

STITCHES: tent
Label TextNot only did Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collect needlepoint rugs, she also produced them. She stitched this rug in separate squares, likely using a pattern. By this period, patterns could be purchased printed onto paper and also directly onto the canvas.
InscribedNo Marks or Inscriptions
ProvenanceMade by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1874-1948) and placed in Bassett Hall;
Given to CWF, 1979.

Abigail Greene Aldrich was born October 26, 1874 to Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Abigail Pearce Truman Chapman. She attended Miss Abbott’s School for Young Girls, from which she graduated in 1893. She married John D. Rockefeller, Jr. on October 9, 1901. Bassett Hall was their house in Williamsburg.