Bed Rug by Rebekah Harris
Object · not yet checked at the source · Image permission pending
- Made by
- Rebekah Harris (1749-1814)
- Date
- 1776 (dated)
- Place
- New London, Connecticut
- Held by
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
- Collection
- Loan courtesy of Bell Family Properties, LLC
- Number
- 2001-60 (L)
- Size
- OW: 86" x OL: 90"
- Themes
- Hooked & handmade rugs
Cite this source
Research notes
CW record: Medium "Hand-tufted wool pile on a linsey-woolsey ground (linen warp and wool weft)". "Large gracefully formed leaves and flowers in vegetable-dyed shades of gold, russet, blue, and dark blue-green with natural background tufting. Flowers, leaves, and vines sprout from a two-handled container ... Some portions of the design are made of cut pile, but most of the design and background is uncut pile. ... The bed rug is signed and dated in the center top, 'R H / 1776'. Technique: The tufted pile was created by using 7-10 strands of wool yarn, pulled through the background material with a large needle, in loose, 1/2"-5/8" running stitches ..." On loan (Bell Family Properties). Why it matters: Before the machine, open question "which bed rugs have cut rather than looped pile": a signed and dated (1776) bed rug that the museum itself calls "hand-tufted" and describes as part cut, part uncut pile, made with a large needle. Other CW bed rugs found: 1773 Connecticut, running stitch (1986-88); 1785 dated, darned (2014.609.6); 1760-1780 Bowne family, Long Island (1964-481); 1820-1835 Wythe County, Va., woven with knots (1980-158); 1807, woven and knotted, possibly Wales (1972-369). Found: Colonial Williamsburg eMuseum, search "tufted" / "bed rug", 2026-10-28. Image added 2026-10-28 (Claude in Chrome): CW eMuseum object photograph (first of four views).