Gestreepte kussensloop met strikken aan de hoeken c. 1836 - 1898

Editor: We're looking at a charming "Gestreepte kussensloop met strikken aan de hoeken"—or striped pillowcase with corner ties—crafted between 1836 and 1898 by Susanna Maria van Pabst Rutgers-Linse. It's rendered in textile, and it just strikes me as so simple and utterly homemade. It's so perfectly imperfect. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, that "perfectly imperfect" captures the essence beautifully! I see the tender care poured into its creation, a whisper of domestic life from a bygone era. Notice how the stripes, slightly irregular, almost breathe. For me, this pillowcase transcends mere function; it becomes a vessel brimming with stories. Imagine the hands that sewed these seams, the dreams dreamt upon it… Editor: Dreams dreamt upon it, I love that! Do you think the stripes and the ties had symbolic meanings at the time? Curator: It’s tantalizing to imagine! The stripes could symbolize order and tranquility sought within the home. And those ties... Perhaps a reminder of connection, holding the household together? We can’t say for certain, of course; perhaps they are simply... stripes and ties. What do *you* think? Editor: I’m charmed by that! Maybe folk art speaks to my soul for that very reason -- there’s just so much you don’t know, that remains delightfully... undiscovered? I have to go, but thanks a lot! Curator: Exactly! And thank *you*. Art is just art, it only blossoms when two persons converse on their impression of it, or as good old William Blake put it, "to see a World in a Grain of Sand."