M.K. Herbert
Crewel Work Bed Curtain
1691
Scroll
M.K. Herbert
Crewel Work Bed Curtain
1691
Physical Qualities
Linen (warp) and cotton (weft) ground; wool, silk, and cotton embroidery threads, Overall: 97 × 46 in. (246.4 × 116.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Judge Irwin Untermyer, New York
Object Number
1956.151a
Women embroidered not only garments but also objects in their surroundings. On display in the nearby case is an embroidered cushion cover, depicting the biblical story of Abraham banishing Hagar and Ishmael, that was likely used to decorate a bedchamber. Similarly, M.K. Herbert’s bed curtain worked in crewel—a technique using wool thread for the embroidery—was part of a set probably intended to decorate her sleeping quarters. Though Herbert’s curtains were for personal use, her influences were global. Her hangings imitate East and South Asian textile designs brought to Europe as global trade and colonial expansion developed.
Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1956; Irwin Untermyer, New York, NY
BMA News, October 1957, p. 5, illus.
Anita Jones, "In 'Prayse of the Needle': English Needlework from the 17th-19th Centuries," BMA Today, October 1997, p. 14, illus.
Hali, "Marketplace" (February 1989) Vol. 11, no. 1, p. 97 (a pair of "Jacobite Bed Hangings" initialed with the cypher of James Stuart (James III, the Old Pretender) and his wife Clementina Sobieska dated 1719) . n
Lanto Synge, Antique Needlework, London: Blandford Press, 1982, pp. 82-91, illus. p. 90, pl. 19.
Liz Arthur, Embroidery 1600-1700 at the Burrel Collection, London: John Murray in Association with the Glasgow Museums, 1995, pp. 38-40, illus. on pl. 23.
Louisa F. Pesel, Stitches From Old English Embroideries, Portfolio No. 1, London: Percy Lund, Humphries & Co., Ltd., and the Country Press, Bradford, 2nd ed., 1921, pls. 1, 3, 5, 6, 16, 17, 21, 24, 28.
Cyril G.E. Bunt, Tudor & Stuart Fabrics, Leigh-on-Sea, England: F. Lewis, Publishers, Ltd. 1961, figs. 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54.
Christa C. Mayer Thurman, Textiles in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1992, p. 64, pp. 68-69.
Lanto Synge, Antique Needlework, London: Blandford Press, 1982, pp. 82-91, illus. p. 90, pl. 19.
Liz Arthur, Embroidery 1600-1700 at the Burrel Collection, London: John Murray in Association with the Glasgow Museums, 1995, pp. 38-40, illus. on pl. 23.
Louisa F. Pesel, Stitches From Old English Embroideries, Portfolio No. 1, London: Percy Lund, Humphries & Co., Ltd., and the Country Press, Bradford, 2nd ed., 1921, pls. 1, 3, 5, 6, 16, 17, 21, 24, 28.
Cyril G.E. Bunt, Tudor & Stuart Fabrics, Leigh-on-Sea, England: F. Lewis, Publishers, Ltd. 1961, figs. 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54.
Christa C. Mayer Thurman, Textiles in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1992, p. 64, pp. 68-69.
Inscribed: Signed: Herbert/M K/1692
