Name: Antique Doubleweave Coverlet Quilt
Brand: naumhouse
SKU: NHRM0010
Price: 785.4 GBP
Availability: InStock

This characterful double-weave coverlet c.1850 in indigo and red wool is the product of a rich and evocative history. Some coverlets of this type were loomed in the domestic home using fibres grown on the farmland. Equally, many were woven by servants in early colonial homes.

The condition of the piece suggests that it has been under continual reworking throughout the years. Most of the coverlet is in faultless condition, although sections with home darnings can be spotted throughout - a fascinating nod to the many hands through which this quilt has passed.

B28 Summer/Winter Doubleweave Coverlet

c.1850
3/4 of original coverlet: 45 x 67 inches
New England
$750

Some of the most well-loved bed coverings in the northeast were doubleweave coverlets. Some of these coverlets were loomed at home using fibers created or grown on the farm. Many affluent people had servants who would do this weaving with looms on the third floor of their early colonial homes. This width of the loom used for the creation of this doubleweave coverlet was 36 inches. At some point, part of this coverlet must have been damaged, and the owners removed that section then turned the side under to finish the edge. Looking at this textile is sort of paradoxical. Most of the coverlet is in perfect condition, then you have one part removed and then sections with home darning to mend holes. We have everything from perfect condition to removed parts to holes that have been darned. This textile certainly has a history! The pine tree border is an early New England border pattern. The checkerboard 9 block patterns are taken directly from the early American quilts. Linen and wool are the fibers used here. The indigo and red are wool, and the white is a very wonderful linen. A textile with character and a wonderfully warm cover for the winter.

Specifications

Dimensions: 114 x 170 cm

Care & History

Professional cleaning recommended

Quilts in the late 17th and 18th centuries were more than just textiles, they were a decorative muscle flex to show off the talents of the makers. Women of this period, often precluded from the fine arts, could find expression in the making of functional items such as quilts. Quilts demonstrated skills in colour composition, graphic arrangement, and fine needlework; some of the designs were so elaborate that they could take years to produce.

Women often came together to help one other complete the quilts, eschewing a sense of individual authorship for the process of communal collaboration. They were treated as eternal gifts, cherished heirlooms to mark significant life events. Mothers would make quilts over the years to give to each child when they left home. In the 1800s, there was a custom for American young women to prove their maturity through quilting - they could only become engaged once they had stitched 12 quilt tops, and only after could they finish them with backing.

These objects, crafted with so much care and intention, documents of a historical past that no longer exists, exuberant studies in colour and form, precursors to our current world of pixelated optics and imbued with the hand of each maker, are true works of art.