Images(3)

Bed Rug, Darned in Shades of Blue

Date1785 (dated)

OriginAmerica, Connecticut, New London area or Norwich (possibly)

MediumWool ground and embellishment; linen thread used to piece the ground textile together.

DimensionsOH: 87 3/4" OW: 87 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Dr. and Mrs. T. Marshall Hahn, Jr. Fund

Object number2014.609.6

DescriptionBed Rug, square shape with rounded bottom corners, embellished with heavy wool threads in shades of indigo blue and off-white, darned through pieced-up plain-woven woolen backing. The embroidery is worked in parallel, curving rows of closely spaced running stitches with most of the wool on the surface. The center field consists of bold four-petal flowers (two whole units and two half units). The side and bottom borders consist of abstract scalloped and peaked lines similar in appearance to Irish stitch needlework, but worked with darning stitches. Bottom corners are filled with scallops. Top edge has initials RD and the date 1785 within a rectangle.
Label TextThis rare American bed rug from 1785 is one of the most vibrant, visually compelling bedcovers to survive. Two other closely related examples with very similar border designs are known: one at the Brooklyn Museum and another at the H. F. DuPont Winterthur Museum. Although bed rugs were made in a number of techniques, including loom-woven knotted pile, this example was made by darning, or stitching, closely spaced rows of heavy wool yarn through a woolen ground, leaving most of the stitches visible on the surface.