Art Institute of Chicago

Bedcover

United States, New England or Mid-Atlantic

Date

c. 1790

Medium

Three panels joined: cotton, plain weave; block-printed-resist-dyed; backed with linen, plain weave; edged with cotton, plain weave tape; block-printed-resist-dyed; quilted with linen

Culture

United States

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, England maintained restrictions on the export of textile-related technology and expertise. Copperplate engraving required specialized training, limiting its widespread use. The age-old tradition of printing with blocks continued in the United States. In this bedcover the blocks were used to apply the resist before the textile was dyed with indigo. Prior to the Revolutionary War, indigo cultivation for export was a profitable enterprise in South Carolina, though this would later be supplanted by the cotton industry.

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