Coverlet panel, geometric double-cloth; 19th century

This white and blue, geometric, double-cloth coverlet panel features a “Single Snowball” pattern centerfield and “Pine Tree” border. These patterns were developed in the German States of the Holy Roman Empire at the end of the seventeenth century and were initially used in damask linen weaving on a much smaller scale. Several German weavers published books during the Early Modern period, and they were translated into numerous languages and this style of block weaving, as it is known, spread across Europe. Immigrant weavers brought these structures and pattern to the United States, increased the scale of the patterns and wove them as double cloth both for coverlets and ingrain carpet. This coverlet panel was initially woven as one length, cut, folded back on itself, and seamed up the middle to create the finished coverlet. The center seam was usually removed to wash coverlets as the double cloth would have been heavy and unwieldly when wet otherwise. The coverlet panel measures 84.5 inches by 34.5 inches, and there are traces of self-fringe along the bottom edge. The upper edge has been repaired with a blue printed cotton band to prevent unraveling. This coverlet panel is in overall poor shape and features several areas of loss. The “Pine Tree” borders found along three sides were created from fractional reduction of the main block patterning. While women were fully capable of weaving overshot and summer and winter coverlets on their own simple looms, many of the geometric double loom patterns required looms with multiple shafts and are traditionally associated with male, professional weavers. There is no information about who may have woven this coverlet or where it may have come from.

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