Cooper Hewitt is fortunate to have in its collection two quilts made by close relatives: Caroline Hammond Reed and her daughter-in-law, Frances Kingsley Reed, from Anderson, South Carolina. Both quilts were donated by Helen Allen Stanbury, a New Yorker who was a native of Anderson. Frances Kingsley Reed (1845–1902), wife of Caroline Hammond Reed’s son...
Suzani, meaning “of needle” in Persian, are large-scale embroideries central to Central Asian domestic culture. Young girls learned to sew at an early age, often beginning to work on textiles intended for their own marriage dowries. Suzanis were considered the most important textiles in a dowry. Indicators of skill and family wealth, they were status...
Embroidered in Bengal, India for the Portuguese market, this colcha, or bedcover, is a result of the interchange of goods and cultural influence between two trade markets. The style and materials are typical of India, but the universal theme of good triumphing over evil is illustrated through a mix of local and European imagery. Eight...
This valance fragment is just a small piece from a set of bed furnishings commissioned by Napoleon I (1769-1821) for his wife Joséphine (1763-1814). Intended for their home in Malmaison, located outside Paris, the commission consisted of a ceiling canopy, pair of curtains, bed cover and valance. Made of fine point d’Alençon lace by the...