Bed Cover
1720-1750 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Cord quilting is a form of relief quilting, whereby strands of cord or thick wool are outlined by parallel lines of stitching. The design can be worked in one of two ways. The first is to stitch the cord to one layer of material. The second is to quilt together two layers of material and insert the cord after the sewing is completed. The latter is the most common technique used in cord quilts of this period.
Linen cord quilts became particularly fashionable in English homes at the end of the seventeenth century, at a time when the bedroom was a site of public display: a place where servants entered, family members rested and guests were entertained. Cord quilts were created by both professional and domestic quilt makers, and provided a practical (readily washable) and restful alternative to the highly patterned and colourful bed covers also fashionable at this time.
Linen cord quilts became particularly fashionable in English homes at the end of the seventeenth century, at a time when the bedroom was a site of public display: a place where servants entered, family members rested and guests were entertained. Cord quilts were created by both professional and domestic quilt makers, and provided a practical (readily washable) and restful alternative to the highly patterned and colourful bed covers also fashionable at this time.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Embroidered and cord quilted linen |
| Brief description | Cord quilted and embroidered linen coverlet, England, 1720-1750 |
| Physical description | Cord quilted white linen coverlet. The design shows a central roundel containing a basket of flowers, surrounded by a trellis and a stylised flower design, with quarter roundels of flowers in each corner. Contained within a thin outer border in a 'twist' design. Worked in fine back stitch embroidery. Worked through two thickness of linen - one fine, for the top; and a coarser weave, for the lining. The bed cover was worked in three separate widths of linen, each approximately 30 inches selvedge to selvedge. When sewn together, the pattern does not match perfectly in some areas of the design. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Lady Pickthorn |
| Object history | Given to the V&A in 1983 by Mrs N Iliffe on behalf of Lady Pickthorn [R.P. 83/1442]. |
| Historical context | In eighteenth-century Britain, the bedrooms of the wealthy were used for the display of luxury goods. They were a place where servants entered, family members rested and guests were entertained. Beautifully worked bed hangings and bed covers were found in both middle-class and aristocratic households. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Cord quilting is a form of relief quilting, whereby strands of cord or thick wool are outlined by parallel lines of stitching. The design can be worked in one of two ways. The first is to stitch the cord to one layer of material. The second is to quilt together two layers of material and insert the cord after the sewing is completed. The latter is the most common technique used in cord quilts of this period. Linen cord quilts became particularly fashionable in English homes at the end of the seventeenth century, at a time when the bedroom was a site of public display: a place where servants entered, family members rested and guests were entertained. Cord quilts were created by both professional and domestic quilt makers, and provided a practical (readily washable) and restful alternative to the highly patterned and colourful bed covers also fashionable at this time. |
| Bibliographic reference | Clare Browne, 'Making and using quilts in eighteenth-century Britain', in Sue Prichard (ed.), Quilts 1700-2010 (London: V&A, 2010) p.37
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.209-1983 |
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| Record created | September 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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