Pictorial Table Rugc. 184029 × 53"Wool appliqué, gauze, and embroidery on woolGift of Ralph Esmerian2013.1.490Appliqued table rug with applied scallops 4 sides with pinked edges. Pictorial scene of house LS and church RS attached by picket fence, tree LS, C, RS. Second fence in foreground, length of rug.1547483906P1.2001.293Artist unidentifiedTextilesThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. OtisfieldOtisfieldUnited StatesMaineTextilesOtisfieldThos. K. Woodard & Blanche Greenstein, Crib Quilts and Other Small Wonders, (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1981) 73.The religious foundation on which America rested was never far from the surface. Even this table rug concisely illustrates the strong connection between church and home as the pillars of an orderly society. These two centers of community life are visually linked by the white picket fence. A willow tree stands beside the church, a reminder that before the advent of the cemetery movement, burial grounds were often located near houses of worship. An oak tree prominently situated in the center of the rug is symbolically associated with strength and fertility.
In America the term rug has variously referred to a table cover, an early type of warm bedcover, and a woven or knotted floor cover. By the early nineteenth century, a new type of rug was in vogue. Although referred to as table rugs, they were probably intended for placement in front of the hearth to protect floors or expensive carpets from soot and flying cinders. This table rug is thought to depict the very home in Otisfield, Maine, in which it was made and used.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Pictorial Table Rug,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
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.orgIn America, the term "rug" has variously referred to a table cover, an early type of warm bedcover, and a woven or knotted floor cover. By the early nineteenth century, a new type of rug was in vogue; referred to as a table rug, it was probably intended for placement in front of the hearth to protect floors or expensive carpets from soot and flying cinders. As with fireboards and overmantels—two other forms ranged around a fireplace—architectural themes were sometimes used to embellish early table or hearth rugs. The imagery on this rug succinctly and powerfully illustrates the strong link between church and home. The two centers of community life are connected and defined by the white picket fence. A willow tree—an essential symbolic element in mourning embroideries—is appropriately placed beside the church, while the oak by the house evokes strength and fertility.
In 1985, when this rug was acquired, it was purported to have descended in the Otisfield house in which it was made, and which was said to still stand. If, in fact, the rug depicts an Otisfield home, the likeliest candidate is the Johnson Knight house, which was located just north of the Bell Hill Meetinghouse situated at the top of Bell Hill Road. Most early Otisfield homes had center chimneys, but the Knight house had two gable-end chimneys, as depicted on this rug. It was also renowned for its elaborate front door—a prominent feature of the rug—which was made by Timothy Fernald. According to Stephen Score, the rug was found in the same house in Otisfield, Maine that is depicted on the rug and that still stands.P1.2001.29318351845 2013 1 49 The religious foundation on which America rested was never far from the surface. Even this table rug concisely illustrates the strong connection between church and home as the pillars of an orderly society. These two centers of community life are visually linked by the white picket fence. A willow tree stands beside the church, a reminder that before the advent of the cemetery movement, burial grounds were often located near houses of worship. An oak tree prominently situated in the center of the rug is symbolically associated with strength and fertility.
In America the term rug has variously referred to a table cover, an early type of warm bedcover, and a woven or knotted floor cover. By the early nineteenth century, a new type of rug was in vogue. Although referred to as table rugs, they were probably intended for placement in front of the hearth to protect floors or expensive carpets from soot and flying cinders. This table rug is thought to depict the very home in Otisfield, Maine, in which it was made and used.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Pictorial Table Rug,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
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.orgIn America, the term "rug" has variously referred to a table cover, an early type of warm bedcover, and a woven or knotted floor cover. By the early nineteenth century, a new type of rug was in vogue; referred to as a table rug, it was probably intended for placement in front of the hearth to protect floors or expensive carpets from soot and flying cinders. As with fireboards and overmantels—two other forms ranged around a fireplace—architectural themes were sometimes used to embellish early table or hearth rugs. The imagery on this rug succinctly and powerfully illustrates the strong link between church and home. The two centers of community life are connected and defined by the white picket fence. A willow tree—an essential symbolic element in mourning embroideries—is appropriately placed beside the church, while the oak by the house evokes strength and fertility.
In 1985, when this rug was acquired, it was purported to have descended in the Otisfield house in which it was made, and which was said to still stand. If, in fact, the rug depicts an Otisfield home, the likeliest candidate is the Johnson Knight house, which was located just north of the Bell Hill Meetinghouse situated at the top of Bell Hill Road. Most early Otisfield homes had center chimneys, but the Knight house had two gable-end chimneys, as depicted on this rug. It was also renowned for its elaborate front door—a prominent feature of the rug—which was made by Timothy Fernald. According to Stephen Score, the rug was found in the same house in Otisfield, Maine that is depicted on the rug and that still stands.