Object Details
- Description
- Jacquard-woven tablecloth, single cloth featuring a central lace pattern medallion; birds with branches and greek key lace border, flanked by rose and floral designs, and an exterior waffle-weave border; cotton; plain weave, waffle weave; 1850-1880; USA. Large rectangle central medallion is developed from a brown warp and red weft. It's base made up of concentric different waffle-weave diamonds with circles at the outer one's outer corners. There is a little bird and flowered branch along each side of the diamond, and the outside effect is overlapping scalloped ribbon outer borders are made up of roses and diamonds. Weave--combination of loose weaves, predominately waffle weave in serious scales. Warp--white dark brown, dark red, blue, 2 ply s twist cotton, weft, white dark red blue single z twist cotton. This object was part of a gift that was divided between Arts and Industry (now American History) and Cooper-Hewitt. Rita Adrosko originally indentified this as a tablecloth due its nearly square dimensions and the presence of fringe on both ends, rather than on three sides. The trompe l'oeil effect of the center medallion was particularly popular in the 1860s and 1870s. Rita mentions in her correspondences that it was not uncommon for blanket and carpet weavers to weave other household textiles. The accession file contains a later attribution to a weaver Thomas Bartholomew Marsteller (1812-1890) of Northhampton County, PA, but there is no documentation in the file linking or suggesting that he might have been the weaver or factory owner.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Edgar O. Smith; Cooper-Hewitt Transfer
- Late 18th - early 19th century
- late 18th - early 19th century
- 1750-1850
- Late 18th - early 19th century
- late 19th century
- 1850-1880
- ID Number
- 1980.0859.03
- accession number
- 1980.0859
- catalog number
- 1980.0859.03
- Object Name
- tablecloth
- tablecloth, Jacquard-woven
- Object Type
- jacquard coverlets
- Physical Description
- jacquard (overall production method/technique)
- single weave (overall production method/technique)
- central medallion (overall pattern)
- roses and diamonds (border pattern)
- red (overall color)
- white (overall color)
- blue (overall color)
- dark brown (overall color)
- cotton (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 75 1/4 in x 74 in; 191.135 cm x 187.96 cm
- place made
- United States
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Textiles
- Coverlets
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_214220
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-7835-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
