"Big Lion" group; coverlet; Figured and Fancy; double-cloth; c.1835-1845; New York
date: label: Date made
content: 1829
label: Date made
content: 1830s?
label: date made
content: 1835-1845
name: label: maker ? not sure
content: Tyler, Harry
label: maker
content: Tyler, Harry
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This coverlet is from what is known as the “Big Lion” or “Hollow Lion” group. The weaver has not yet been identified. There have been at least eighteen of these coverlets identified and collectors and scholars have attributed these coverlets to Auburn State Prison or to weaver, Harry Tyler, who also sometimes used a lion in his cornerblocks. There is; however, no evidence to corroborate these prior attributions. The centerfield design features stylized floral carpet medallions. There are borders on three sides. The side borders depict flowering trees, and the bottom border also features a different design of tall, leafed trees. The cornerblocks are unsigned and undated and contain a vertically oriented lion. This lion is depicted in outline form rather than solid as depicted in Tyler’s coverlets. This coverlet measures 84 inches by 78 inches and was constructed from two panels sewn together with a center seam. The unidentified weaver would have been from the Finger Lakes region of New York state and the coverlet was likely woven between the years 1835 and 1845.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York
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: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Margaret M. Sharke
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T18629
label: catalog number
content: T18629.000
label: accession number
content: 1978.2413
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: trees, "Big Lion" (border pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: carpet medallion (center pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: blue, white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: Figured and Fancy (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: double cloth (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 84 in x 74 in; 213.36 cm x 187.96 cm