Flowering Vines Candlewick SpreadEarly 19th century96 × 95"Ribbed cotton with cotton roving embroidery and cotton fringeGift of Cyril Irwin Nelson in honor of Cora Ginsburg1993.6.80Applied fringe seamed by hand to turned edges of spread. Roving clipped for tufted floral accents. Central vine flowing out of pot, stylized leaves, carnations, tulips, bird, pineapples; three sides of border: scalloped double line with circles, spaced floral and leaf sprigs.1536752163Artist unidentifiedTextilesThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. United StateswhiteworkTEXTILEwhole clothThis whitework bedcover is an elaborate example of a technique known as candlewick embroidery. Candlewick bedcovers usually consisted of a single layer of fabric or two layers with no batting. The top was often pieced from three lengths of cotton or linen in a plain or ribbed weave. The term “candlewick” refers to surface embellishment with thick cotton threads sometimes called roving or wicking after the loosely twisted yarn used for wicks in eighteenth-century candles.
A number of popular embroidery stitches were used in candlewicking. Some were flat, such as the stem, back, satin, and outline stitches. Others, including bullion knots, French knots, tufting, and couching, left dimensional elements on the surface, usually loops or knots. The composition of this candlewick bedcover shares strong design similarities with a group of early bed rugs made in the Connecticut River Valley, notably the verticality of the central floral element with crossed and twining branches and floriated vines.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org 18001830 1993 6 8 whiteworkTEXTILEwhole clothThis whitework bedcover is an elaborate example of a technique known as candlewick embroidery. Candlewick bedcovers usually consisted of a single layer of fabric or two layers with no batting. The top was often pieced from three lengths of cotton or linen in a plain or ribbed weave. The term “candlewick” refers to surface embellishment with thick cotton threads sometimes called roving or wicking after the loosely twisted yarn used for wicks in eighteenth-century candles.
A number of popular embroidery stitches were used in candlewicking. Some were flat, such as the stem, back, satin, and outline stitches. Others, including bullion knots, French knots, tufting, and couching, left dimensional elements on the surface, usually loops or knots. The composition of this candlewick bedcover shares strong design similarities with a group of early bed rugs made in the Connecticut River Valley, notably the verticality of the central floral element with crossed and twining branches and floriated vines.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org