Sheet
ca. 1640-1660 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Most 17th century inventories, however wealthy the household, list sheets of some kind, although there is great variety in both quality and quantity. In 1638 the sheets which belonged to Anne, Viscountess Dorchester, were listed as fine holland, flaxen, middling, and 'olde thinne'.
The fabric used for making into pillow cases and sheets was woven from flax or hemp. Flax made the best quality linen. Such linen, used for clothing as well as household goods, which was sometimes described as 'holland', or 'cambric', after the town of Cambrai, France, formed a significant export trade from the Netherlands, Flanders, and northern France. The majority of people would have had bed linen made from locally-grown, spun and bleached flax or hemp, however. Different parts of the plants produced fibres of differing quality, giving a range of sheeting from fine to very coarse and rough.
Much of this sheet may have been home made. The women of the household may have spun the linen thread and then sent it away for weaving. The woven linen was then cut, sewn and embroidered at home, where the bobbin lace could also have been made. The initials embroidered on it are those of the owners.
The fabric used for making into pillow cases and sheets was woven from flax or hemp. Flax made the best quality linen. Such linen, used for clothing as well as household goods, which was sometimes described as 'holland', or 'cambric', after the town of Cambrai, France, formed a significant export trade from the Netherlands, Flanders, and northern France. The majority of people would have had bed linen made from locally-grown, spun and bleached flax or hemp, however. Different parts of the plants produced fibres of differing quality, giving a range of sheeting from fine to very coarse and rough.
Much of this sheet may have been home made. The women of the household may have spun the linen thread and then sent it away for weaving. The woven linen was then cut, sewn and embroidered at home, where the bobbin lace could also have been made. The initials embroidered on it are those of the owners.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Linen with whitework and lace |
| Brief description | Sheet with pulled thread work and bobbin lace, Netherlands, 1640-1660 |
| Physical description | Sheet made from two widths of linen with edges rolled and hemmed with a double line of pulled thread work. The two halves are partly joined by a narrow insertion of plaited bobbin lace with a simple zig-zag pattern. For the last approx 96 cm the two halves of the sheet are cut back and the space filled with an inserted band of linen and insertions of the same bobbin lace. The top edge of the sheet and the top 100 cm approx of each side are trimmed with a small, scalloped bobbin lace. The inserted panel in the centre is decorated with whitework embroidery, and the pattern of diamonds and triangles is worked mainly in satin stitch, but in the centre of each geometric motif are small cutwork squares with simple needle fillings. Rows of single, small cutwork squares decorate the lines separating the motifs and other outlines are defined by rows of tiny eyelet holes. As well as the initials embroidered on the sheet, it has a series of pin holes that look like initials that had previously been worked on it, and subsequently unpicked. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Miss M Waller |
| Object history | The sheet was said to have been in the possession of the donor's family since the 17th century. The white initials, the white embroidery and the lace are in a style common in the Friesland area of Holland. A similar sheet in a private Dutch collection is dated 1663. See also the pillow covers dated 1640 : T.206 and 207-1966. |
| Summary | Most 17th century inventories, however wealthy the household, list sheets of some kind, although there is great variety in both quality and quantity. In 1638 the sheets which belonged to Anne, Viscountess Dorchester, were listed as fine holland, flaxen, middling, and 'olde thinne'. The fabric used for making into pillow cases and sheets was woven from flax or hemp. Flax made the best quality linen. Such linen, used for clothing as well as household goods, which was sometimes described as 'holland', or 'cambric', after the town of Cambrai, France, formed a significant export trade from the Netherlands, Flanders, and northern France. The majority of people would have had bed linen made from locally-grown, spun and bleached flax or hemp, however. Different parts of the plants produced fibres of differing quality, giving a range of sheeting from fine to very coarse and rough. Much of this sheet may have been home made. The women of the household may have spun the linen thread and then sent it away for weaving. The woven linen was then cut, sewn and embroidered at home, where the bobbin lace could also have been made. The initials embroidered on it are those of the owners. |
| Bibliographic reference | Leslie Clarkson, The Linen Industry in Early Modern Europe, in David Jenkins ed., The Cambridge History of Western Textiles, 2003, pp.473-492. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.275-1978 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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