Embroidered whitework coverlet

Embroidered whitework coverlet

Jane Simonton Chapman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This whitework coverlet is composed of three lengths of twill-weave fabric stitched together. It is embroidered with loops of heavy white cotton thread, sometimes called "candlewicking." A large eight-pointed star is embroidered in the center with an eagle above it and one beneath it. The central motifs are surrounded by flowering potted plants and a swag border. The coverlet is fringed on all four sides; each piece of fringe is drawn through the hem individually.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.