Coverlet 1814

This woven coverlet was created by Nancy Parker, who was born in 1749 and lived until 1848. It offers a tactile connection to a time when cloth production was a central, gendered, domestic activity. This coverlet speaks to the lives of women in early America, where textile work was not just a craft but a crucial contribution to household economies. Think about the labor and skill involved in creating this piece, from the cultivation of raw materials to the spinning of yarn and the weaving of the fabric. Parker's coverlet could be seen as a quiet act of resistance, an assertion of value of women’s work in a society that often overlooks it. It’s a reminder of the countless unnamed hands that have shaped our material world, and an invitation to consider the social and personal narratives woven into the fabric of our lives.