Art Institute of Chicago

Towel

Elizabeth Bofgholder (American, active c. 1831)

Date

1831

Medium

Linen, plain weaves; pieced; cut and drawn thread work embroidered with cotton and linen in overcast and darning stitches; pulled thread work with linen in loop stitches; embroidered with cotton in cross and darning stitches; warp fringe; tapes of linen, plain weave

Culture

United States

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This towel displays traditional German motifs (such as a peacock and birds in a nest) in a symmetrical arrangement. Made in Pennsylvania Dutch and German communities, towels of this type were typically made by older women, as they are technically more difficult and elaborate to create than samplers. The height of towel production for purely decorative use occurred during the 1830s.

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