Shawl

Object Name:

Shawl

Object ID:

1945.004

Creator:

Bailey, Mary (1743-1840)

Place of Origin:

Lemington, VT

Date:

1795-1810

Description:

Shawl. According to oral tradition, made by Mary (Sargent) Bailey (1743-1840), Lemington, VT, from her wedding dress, for her daughter Abigail (Bailey) Bradley (1775-1868). Multicolored silk flowers hand embroidered in long and short satin, and New England laid stitches; and stems and leaves in stem stitches; on blue silk fabric. Basket woven silk, possibly made in China. Hand stitched. Pieced: five panel construction, center 5.5" x 24" wide with one vertical selvedge, two 25" x 41" rectangles, one each side, are seamed to the center panel, one rectangle is constructed from two 12" wide pieces seam at center with two selvedges running horizontal along the top and bottom. Three 0.25" flat felled seams. Two 0.25" hems one on each end finished with 4" of hand knotted silk net fringe. Top and bottom edge are finished with 0.5" blue silk satin tape. Most of the embroidery was worked prior to assembly, with some embellishments added following construction. Embroidery stitches include cross, satin (long and short), stem, New England laid, Oriental couching, and French knots.

Material:

Textile
Silk

Dimensions:

W-24.5 L-96 inches

Provenance:

According to the donor, this was "one of four" shawls made by Mary (Sargent) Bailey (1743-1840) for her daughters. This shawl belonged to her daughter, Abigail (Bailey) Bradley (1775-1868), of Lemington, VT, and Fryeburg, ME. The donor, Mary Ann (Bradley) Mattson (1853-1945), was a granddaughter of Abigail (Bailey) Bradley.

Credit Line:

Gift of Mary Anne Mattson

People:

Bailey, Mary (1743-1840), Bradley, Abigail (1775-1868), Mattson, Mary Anne (1853-1945)

Subjects:

Embroidery, Needlepoint, Silk, Flowers, Birds, Textiles