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Crewel Embroidered Petticoat Border
Crewel Embroidered Petticoat Border
Crewel Embroidered Petticoat Border

Crewel Embroidered Petticoat Border

Period1740 - 1770
MediumPlied wool crewel yarn on linen
Dimensions2.25 × 103 in. (5.7 × 261.6 cm)
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask in memory of her father Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne, 1953
Object number2016.512
DescriptionA narrow petticoat border of closely woven, fine quality bleached linen, embroidered with a continuous border. The linen strip is pieced in five sections, measuring 28 1/4 inches, 31 3/8 inches, 31 3/8 inches, 31 inches, and 9 1/2 inches in length. The edges of each piece are butted and whip stitched together, with the left and right ends double folded and hemmed with whip stitching. The top and bottom edges of the strip are finished with simple quarter-inch turned hems, sewn with a simple running stitch in coarse linen thread. The embroidery design was drawn onto the linen, and portions of the sepia-toned inked lines are visible in numerous areas where the wool thread has worn away. Twenty-three colors are used within the embroidery, including scarlet, mulberry, rose, blush pink, light pink, dark green, grass green, apple green, lime green, bright yellow, golden yellow, royal blue, sky blue, ice blue, dark purple, lavender, pale lilac, dark brown, russet, golden brown, black, and oyster white. Stitch work is done in satin, stem, and French knot. Many of the larger floral and foliate elements are worked in ombre shading, from dark to light, while the smaller motifs such as the berry clusters, are worked in single colors. Most of the floral designs are stylized, but some can be identified as roses, carnations, and tulips. Amidst the foliage appear, from left to right, a brown and white cat, an exotic blue bird with pink crest and brightly colored tailfeathers, a stag, and an American goldfinch. The entire pattern repeats once, with the deer and finch replacing the cat and blue bird in the second sequence.
Curatorial RemarksFew eighteenth century American crewel embroidered petticoat borders survive. Measuring just 2 1/4 inches wide, this extremely rare example is the narrowest known, and at 103 inches in length is one of the longest as well. Women, and perhaps older girls, created petticoat borders as a way to display their embroidery talents in wearable fashion form. Usually stitched in colorful crewel wool yarn on linen, the decorative bands were sewn to the bottom of the wearer's petticoat and could be removed prior to laundering or to sew on to another skirt. Some examples exist where the embroidery was worked onto an entire petticoat. A few of the surviving borders may in fact have been cut away from old or worn out skirts. Eighteenth century petticoats were meant to be worn either ankle length or shorter. The portrait of Ariantje Coeymans Verplanck (1672 - 1743), of Albany County, New York, in the collection of the Albany Institute of History and Art (accession number 1938.5) depicts its wealthy subject in a rare full length view. Ariantje's gown includes a petticoat edged with an embroidered band, her shoes clearly visible beneath her ankle length skirts. A survey of approximately fifteen surviving petticoat borders in museums and private collections indicates that the majority of patterns are continuous floral and foliate vines, often in a predominant color scheme of pink and green. Some borders include fanciful and amusing animals such as dogs, cats, deer, rabbits, and even squirrels, as well as a variety of birds. A very few also include pastoral scenes with people, landscapes, and even houses. The Association's border reveals that the design was inked onto the linen prior to embroidery. The confident and well-balanced pattern indicates that it may have been professionally done. Twenty-three different colors of wool yarn were used in the embroidery, with a number of the flowers and leaves done in sophisticated ombre color schemes. The overall design is lively and charming, with blossoms such as tulips and roses and bright berries and leaves twining along a meandering and graceful vine. Featuring one complete design repeat, the Association's border also includes several variations within the design. A calico cat depicted under a vine is replaced in the repeat with an antlered stag, while a fanciful exotic bird sporting a multicolored tail is swapped for a recognizable American goldfinch. The maker of this border may well have been Susanna Pelletreau Ustick (1730 - 1789). Born into a prominent New York City silversmithing family, Susanna would have had both the education and the leisure time as well as the economic status to create this type of decorative fashion adornment. The petticoat border accompanied a set of crewel embroidered bed hangings (accession number 1988.677) in a January 1953 Parke-Bernet auction of family items consigned by Richard Hartshorne. It was purchased along with the hangings by his aunt, Julia Hartshorne Trask, and donated within days to the Association. At the time of the sale and for twenty five years thereafter, this item was mistakenly identified as a bell pull. However, the design is obviously intended to be viewed horizontally, not vertically. Although contemporary with the Hartshorne bed hangings, the petticoat border was not embroidered by the same person. NotesThe petticoat border was sold at auction at the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York in 1953, identified at the time as a bell pull. It had descended in the Hartshorne family to Richard Hartshorne (1900 - 1958). He had consigned the border and many other inherited heirlooms to the auction house from the family's estate called Portland near Highlands, Monmouth County, New Jersey, which he had just sold. The petticoat border, which was included in a lot with a set of crewel embroidered bed hangings (see accession number 1988.677), had no provenance other than by descent in the Hartshorne family. Research in the extensive Hartshorne Family Papers in the Association's archives, and in other repositories, has failed to turn up any reference to it or the hangings before their 1953 sale. One item, however, may provide a clue to its 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. It belonged to Henry Ustick (1739 - 1784), his brother William Ustick (1731 - 1806), and William's daughter Ann Ustick (1772 - 1830). Ann made her home in Monmouth County with her sister Susannah Pelletreau Ustick (1760 - 1833), who had married Richard Hartshorne (1752 - 1831), then owner of Portland. The Usticks were prominent merchants and ironmongers in New York City. Dating from the mid-eighteenth century, the petticoat border could have been worked 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 might have taken the time to create a crewel embroidered petticoat border. It should be pointed out, however, that although the border and bed hangings both date from the mid-eighteenth century, they were clearly worked by different hands.
Collections
ProvenanceBy descent in the Hartshorne family of Portland, Highlands, Monmouth County, New Jersey, to Richard Hartshorne (1900 - 1958); sold in an American and English Furniture and Decorations auction at Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York held on 22 to 24 January 1953, lot 514 (identified as a bell pull); purchased at the sale by Hartshorne's aunt, Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask (1863 - 1955).