Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Coverlet with Masonic Symbols
1830
Maker not marked
USA: New York, Orange or Dutchess County
Cotton, wool
overall: 96"h x 72"w
Special Acquisitions Fund
75.29

Blue and white jacquard-woven Masonic coverlet with center seam and woven corner text "Agricul / ture & Manufactures. Are the Found / ation of Our Inde / pendence. / July 4. / 1830." Top and bottom outer borders show American eagles beneath arches of stars and bees, flanking Masonic pillars with open Bible; on either side of each eagle is a goat and a monkey. The side borders are the same, except for a woven depiction of Independence Hall instead of the Masonic symbols. The top and bottom edges are woven with the original owner's name, "Huldah.Penny." The center shows six floral vine medallions. An additional stylized flower is woven between the center motifs and the border.

From the 1820s through the 1840s, many women prized boldly decorated coverlets with sophisticated designs like this one. Professional weavers, not homemakers, made them. Over 125 examples of coverlets in this pattern are extant today, all made between 1822 and 1840, but woven in at least eight variations. Unfortunately, we are unable to conclusively identify the Huldah Penny who originally owned this coverlet.