A History of Tufted Rugs

Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

Bed rug (bedcover) inscribed "Mary Foot AD 1778"

Bed rug (bedcover) inscribed "Mary Foot AD 1778"

Object · not yet checked at the source · Image permission pending

Made by
Mary Foot
Date
1778
Place
Connecticut (probably)
Held by
Winterthur Museum
Number
1960.0594
Materials
wool
Size
80 × 80.5 in. (fringe 2.25 in.)
Themes
Early tufting: bed rugs & needlework pile

Cite this source

Mary Foot. Bed rug (bedcover) inscribed “Mary Foot AD 1778”, 1778. Winterthur Museum, 1960.0594. museumcollection.winterthur.org/object/16695.

Research notes

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich links it to an "E.F." bed rug (Elizabeth Foote) at the Connecticut Historical Society and an unmarked rug at Historic Deerfield; all three may commemorate the Foot siblings' marriages on 5 November 1778. A dated, named, pre-1800 needle-made pile textile at Winterthur: a strong anchor object for a tufting-lineage argument.