Images(20)

Crewel Embroidered Bed Hangings

Period1740 - 1770

MediumPlied crewel wool yarn and plied silk thread on linen and linen / cotton grounds

Dimensions1988.677a Foot Valence: 27 × 65.63 in. (68.6 × 166.7 cm)
1988.677b Side Valence: 13.25 × 86.38 in. (33.7 × 219.4 cm)
1988.677c Side Valence: 13.13 × 86.75 in. (33.3 × 220.3 cm)
1988.677d Foot Skirt: 12.88 × 63.75 in. (32.7 × 161.9 cm)
1988.677e Side Skirt: 13 × 87.75 in. (33 × 222.9 cm)
1988.677f Side Curtain: 88.13 × 45.75 in. (223.8 × 116.2 cm)
1988.677g Side Curtain: 85.63 × 45.75 in. (217.5 × 116.2 cm)
1988.677h Headcloth: 86 × 61.5 in. (218.4 × 156.2 cm)
1988.677i Coverlet: 85.25 × 80.5 in. (216.5 × 204.5 cm)

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask in memory of her father Benjamin M. Hartshorne, 1953

Object number1988.677

DescriptionA set of bed hangings comprised of nine pieces, including a headcloth, two side panels, a coverlet, two side valances, a foot valance, one side skirt panel, and a foot skirt panel, all on plain woven linen and linen/cotton ground. The nine pieces are worked in plied wool crewel yarns, ranging from fine to heavy, in more than 25 colors, including black, midnight blue, medium blue, pale blue, dark green, medium green, pale green, scarlet, rose, salmon, pale pink, dark brown, medium brown, golden brown, ochre yellow, lemon yellow, russet, tan, and off white. Several types of two-color plied yarns appear, in brown and tan and blue and tan. Stitches are varied, and include bullion, trimmed Ghiordes knot, Roumanian couching, stem, split, satin, padded satin, long-armed cross, and French knots. The side and foot valances are shaped. The headcloth, coverlet, and both side panels have been altered with the addition of 3 7/8" strips of linen sewn to the left and right edges of the original panels, then embroidered with continuations of the original crewel work floral and foliate vines in slightly different but noticeable wool yarns. The set is missing the second side skirt panel.
Curatorial RemarksThe Hartshorne bed hangings constitute one of the most complete sets of mid-eighteenth century American crewel-embroidered bed hangings known to survive. It consists of three valances, a headcloth, a coverlet, two side curtains, and two sections of skirt or flounce. The ground fabrics are a mixture of a linen / cotton blend known in the eighteenth century as fustian, and plain linen. The curtains, valances and skirt panels were all pieced together prior to embroidery in an attempt to use every scrap of the many yards of fabric required for such a set. One of the valances, for example, was assembled from five different pieces of linen. Once sewn, an unknown hand drew the lovely twining vines, flowers, birds, and animals on the linen with ink. In several areas, the original ink guidelines can still be seen (see image detail). All embroidery was done in a dazzling array of plied wool crewel yarns in bright shades of green, blue, red, pink, yellow, brown, gray, tan, and off white. Both headcloth and coverlet contain twenty-five individual motifs arranged five by five, while the side curtains each include eighteen designs arranged three by six. Several motifs appear two or even three times, usually worked in different color schemes, while others appear only once. The valances and skirt panels include such animals as a cat with her kitten, a dog, a running horse, a stag, and what appear to be a variety of goat-like figures. Birds also appear frequently, including a parrot perched on a floral spray, and a rooster. Fruit trees were also stitched in several locations. A number of floral blossoms were worked in an ombre, or dark to light shaded, color scheme. In some areas, it appears that two color wool yarns, both in blue and tan and brown and tan, were used to give a brindled appearance to some of the animal figures. The hangings include a wide variety of stitches including split, satin, padded satin, Roumanian couching, Ghiordes knot, bullion, French knot, and stem. Ghiordes knot work appears in several of the floral and fruit sprays, forming three-dimensional patches of grass or lawn, with the looped yarn clipped, trimmed, and fluffed. In most instances where the Ghiordes stitch was used, two contrasting yarn colors were combined. And in at least one area, four colors (red, blue, yellow, and white) were blended, resulting in a variegated appearance (see image detail). Bullion stitch appears in a number of areas throughout the hangings. In one example, closely set bullion coils make up a patch of ground from which a floral spray sprouts. Two contrasting yarn colors are wrapped together, again forming an eye catching contrast (see image detail). A close examination of the original stitch work seems to indicate that at least two pairs of hands were involved in the embroidery. One embroiderer was highly skilled, working in a confident and bold manner, while another embroiderer, perhaps a family member or friend, labored in a more tentative and slightly cruder fashion. In some small areas, it appears that later repair work was carried out in both wool and silk thread. The set may have originated within the Ustick family of New York City, who were prominent and successful merchants and ironmongers. Susanna Pelletreau Ustick (1730 - 1789) married Monmouth County resident Richard Hartshorne (1752 - 1831) and may have brought this set of bed hangings with her into the marriage. The set would have originally included additional side and foot curtains intended to hang around the bed's foot posts, completely enclosing the sleeping space. In many eighteenth century inventories, bed hangings were often the single most expensive possession among a household's furnishings. Both highly decorative and a way to display economic status, bed hangings were also practical in an era without central heating. The fabric curtains could be drawn closed, providing insulation and keeping body warmth within a smaller space. With the introduction of stoves, bed hangings gradually became more decorative in nature. Many original sets were cut up, reused, remade, or discarded all together. At some point in its history, most likely during the early nineteenth century, the Association's hangings were altered. The head cloth, coverlet, and side curtains had additional strips of linen sewn along the left and right sides to make them wider, apparently to fit a larger or newer bed. The original floral and foliate vine borders were extended onto the new linen strips. Upon examination, this alteration is quite noticeable. The wool yarns are visibly different both in coloration and in thickness, while the embroidery is of much lower quality and in many areas quite crudely done. The set was consigned to auction in 1953 at Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York City by Richard Hartshorne. They sold on 24 January for $2,500, a large sum for the day. The buyer was his aunt, Julia Hartshorne Trask. A photograph in the auction catalogue indicates that the hangings were bound with woven tape in what appeared to be a dark and light lozenge pattern. This tape was apparently added to the hangings when the panels were altered in the early nineteenth century. In February 1953, the hangings were donated by Julia Trask to the Association. In 1958, they were altered and conserved by the New York firm of Ernest LoNano. At that time, the panels were relined with old linen. One of the questions regarding the bed hangings is the shape of the valances and skirt panels. Although somewhat altered by LoNano, the panels were indeed shaped from the start as the original embroidered borders curve to accommodate what must have been their early undulating silhouette. A reproduction bedstead donated anonymously in 1958 provided a very suitable context for display as it was custom measured specifically for the hangings. In 1979 and 1980, the Hartshorne bed hangings were sent for conservation to the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, DE. At that time, the linen linings were replaced with cotton sateen, which remains in place today. The Association also owns a crewel embroidered petticoat border that accompanied the bed hangings in the 1953 auction (accession number 2016.512), a gift from Mrs. Trask.NotesImportant questions concerning the Hartshorne bed hangings have been raised for decades. Who made them? When were they made? Are they English or American? When sold at auction in 1953 at the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York, the hangings were accompanied by an elaborate, notarized affidavit claiming that they had belonged to the family's immigrant ancestor, Richard Hartshorne (1641 - 1722). The affidavit stated that they were "believed to have been ordered by him and made for his personal use. They have descended to me through eight generations of the family . . ." The document was signed by Richard Hartshorne (1900 - 1958), who had consigned the hangings and many other heirlooms to Parke-Bernet from the family's estate called Portland near Highlands, Monmouth County, which he had just sold. At the present time, it is believed that the crewel embroidered bed hangings date from the mid-eighteenth century, and that they were worked in America primarily on a linen / cotton blend fabric called fustian that had been imported from England. Research in the extensive Hartshorne Family Papers in the Association's archives, and in other repositories, has failed to turn up any reference to the hangings before their 1953 sale. One item, however, may provide a clue to their origin. A very heavily used eighteenth century family bible, still owned by descendants, has been protected by a crewel embroidered cover in Irish stitch, or what is now called flame stitch (see image). It contains an engraved armorial bookplate for Henry Ustick (1739 - 1784) pasted on the inside front cover, the signature of his brother William Ustick (1731 - 1806) below it, and a religious essay on a front free end paper dated 22 October 1817 and signed by William's daughter Ann Ustick (1772 - 1830). William Ustick became a successful New York merchant and ironmonger. During the American Revolution, he held strong Loyalist sentiments. But the family, who were ardent Anglicans, remained in New York, where William died on 2 May 1806. Seven of his children intermarried with the Hartshorne family, including Susanna (1760 - 1833) who wed Richard Hartshorne (1752 - 1831), then owner of Portland. Susanna's single sister Ann made her home for many years with the Hartshornes in Monmouth County. She died at the estate on 29 September 1830. Her remains were interred in the private Hartshorne family burying ground on Kings Highway in Middletown village. So the bible, printed in London in 1756 and with its cover worked soon after, is one documented example of a skilled piece of embroidery entering the Hartshorne family through the Ustick line. Given a very ambitious and time consuming project that a set of crewel work bed hangings represented, it is entirely possible that they were embroidered in New York City by an earlier member of the Ustick family, perhaps by Susanna Pelletreau Ustick (1733 - 1789), mother to Susanna and Ann. The elder Susanna was the daughter of Paul Pelletreau and Susanna Heurtin of New York, both related to prominent silversmiths. It is a young woman of this urban background and social standing who would have had the leisure to take on the task of creating a set of bed hangings. Her parents would have also possessed the resources necessary to purchase so many yards of imported ground fabric, and also the volume and colored rainbow of crewel wool yarns with which to embroider its many designs and borders.

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