"Stars and Tables" Overshot Coverlet, 1784
date: label: date made
content: 1784
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: The weaver and original owner of this very complex, well worn, single-woven, linen, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet, dated 1784, are unknown. The letters “E M” and the date are woven into the coverlet on the lower right hand side, using a hand technique. We do not know if
label: Description
content: “E M” stands for name of the owner or the weaver. In the 18th century it was not unusual for textiles to be marked with the initials of the owner, but it was usually done with embroidery. The initials identified the coverlet as the woman's property. Women could own and inherit "moveable" property.
label: Description
content: The overall patterns used in this coverlet are “Rose” and “Tables,” and there are two shades of indigo blue used in a band effect. The coverlet was woven in two sections, and then sewn together. The original size of the sections and the coverlet as a whole are unknown, as there are no original edges present. This coverlet was found in Massachusetts. In the18th century, a young woman might commission the weaving of a coverlet or receive one as a gift, and put it in her dowry (hope chest) saving it for use after marriage.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Coverlets
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.0723.01
label: accession number
content: 1979.0723
label: catalog number
content: 1979.0723.1
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, overshot
label: Object Type
content: coverlets
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: overshot (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton, linen, wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 76 in x 66 1/2 in; 193.04 cm x 168.91 cm