This 19th Century American Upholstery is from the top of a prie-dieu (furniture used during prayer), where the person praying would rest their arms. It is shaped like an elongated kidney bean and has an embroidered light beige design of birds, twigs, and leaves against a wool and linen brown twill background. In the center two birds with long bodies and tail feathers are outlined, breasts almost touching but their necks turned around so that their beaks point behind them toward the sides. On each side of the birds two short twigs bear several soft-looking embroidered leaves and two berries each, comprised of numerous round seeds. The fabric is quite worn with flecks of the linen lining peaking through in several small places. This is a companion piece to the Prie-Dieu Seat Upholstery (R28e4.x.1) also in Gardner’s collection.
American
Prie-Dieu Top Upholstery,
19th century
Embroidered wool and linen, twill
,
17.1 x 55.9 cm (6 3/4 x 22 in.)
Object details
Accession number
F28e4.x.2
Primary Creator
American
Full title
Prie-Dieu Top Upholstery
Creation Date
19th century
Description
Birds, Fruit
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Dimensions
17.1 x 55.9 cm (6 3/4 x 22 in.)
Display Media
Embroidered wool and linen, twill
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chapel
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.