bolster-cover
- Museum number
- Eu2004,03.13
- Description
-
A wide, rectangular bolster-cover. Polychrome wool supplementary weft patterning on a yellow tabby woven goat hair? ground; made from one piece of hand woven fabric. The centre has a predominantly red diamond lattice pattern, framed by a geometic pattern (inner) - worked in white cotton thread and red, blue, green and maroon woollen threads - and an identical diamond lattice pattern, worked entirely in black woollen thread. A black border surrounds the coloured patterning and reaches to the long sides of the bolster-cover. There is one row of four black geometric motifs and an outer row of five, worked in blue and red wool yarns. The sides of the cover which remain yellow (at the ends) are not sewn up. The reverse is undecorated with the opening towards one end. The fabric is much brighter (yellow warp/orange weft) on the reverse, suggesting the front has faded through exposure to light. A large, semi-circular darning repair on the reverse beside one long edge, using yellow wool thread. The patterning has been worked such that the fabric does not lie flat on the front.
- Production date
- 1900-1960
- Dimensions
-
Length: 115 centimetres
-
Width: 37 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- In the view of Ken Ward [21 04 2008], donor of Balkan textiles, this bolster-cover may have been made by nomadic peoples, though not Vlach or Sarakatsan. Perhaps brought into the Balkans. Woven by women. The centre black lattice pattern is made using black sheep's wool, which does not fade. Compare it with Eu2004,03.14 and Eu1993,08.24, an older piece, and once owned by Dimitrije Mitrinovic.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2004
- Acquisition notes
- Bought by the donor in Peć market in 1960.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- Eu2004,03.13
