Bed foot curtain, plate and block-printed

Date1775-1780

Artist/Maker I. Penn

MediumPlate and block printed cotton.

Dimensions54" X 81"; selvage width: 36"; vertical repeat: 38 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1989-396,1

DescriptionRectangular curtain for a bed, printed with copperplate in madder red and bordered with block print cotton. Printed design consists of a cluster of fruit and leaves at the base of a bold branch with grapes and flowers, with a parrot having three grapes in his beak perched in the branch, surrounded by smaller birds, and a snail climbing the branch. The curtain consists of one full width and one half width of the plate printed cotton, seamed at the selvage with running stitches; bordered on three sides with block printed trim folded over the edges; top edge is finished with 1/2-inch linen tabby tape. Thread remnants across the top indicate original position of rings, spaced approximately 6" apart.Label TextMost fashionable beds of the eighteenth century were enclosed by curtains and topped by narrow valences that formed a decorative heading and hid the curtain hardware. Printed fabrics, whether block printed or plate printed- like this example- were often favored for bed hangings.Mark(s)"Designed and Engraved by I. Penn (?)". Engraved into the branch beneath the parrot. Blue threads in selvage.ProvenancePrior to 1989, Cora Ginsburg Inc. (Sharon, CT); 1989, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)