Curtain

Date19th century

Artist/Maker R. Jones

MediumCotton (by microscope 7/2014) (tabby weave)

DimensionsOverall: 38 1/4 x 109 1/2in. (97.2 x 278.1cm) Other (Design Repeat): 76 1/4 x 38 1/4in. (193.7 x 97.2cm) 76 warps per inch; 100 wefts per inch.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1951-390,1A

DescriptionCopperplate printed cotton curtain. Pastoral scene with shepard playing flute and woman spinning with a distaff among broken columns with farm animals at the edge of a stream; shepard seated on stone fragment inscribed "R. Jones/1761." Dogs chasing a stag seperate 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. Portion of a stone inscribed, "R. J. & Co./OLD FORD/1761." Printed in red. It is believed that this is a 19th century copy of an earlier 18th century print.
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."
MarkingsR. J. and Co
Old Ford
1761

This is placed on the falling rock, to the right of the peacock tail.

R. Jones
1761

This is under the seated flute player.
ProvenanceUnknown.