Jacquard coverlet 

H. Langden Brown made this Jacquard Coverlet in watercolour and graphite on paper at an unknown date. The composition is dominated by a grid-like structure that divides the textile into distinct blocks. The lower portion displays a densely woven section with legible names and dates, sharply contrasted against the faded, spectral designs above. Brown uses colour to create a sense of depth, but also of incomplete representation. The coverlet’s incomplete rendering destabilizes the traditional notions of textile art. The interplay between the structured, finished sections and the ethereal, unfinished parts invites a semiotic interpretation. The coverlet, traditionally a symbol of domesticity and completion, is here presented as a fragmented study. The formal qualities of the artwork challenge fixed meanings. The ghostly upper registers prompt us to question the artwork's meaning and artistic intention.