File Name	shades_ppm_0001.jpg
Title	Coverlet
Date	circa 1840s
Genre	Artifacts
Material/Technique	Unbleached cotton, tufted and sewn
Description	White on white square cotton coverlet with tufted designs.
Historical note	This carefully stitched coverlet was made from unbleached cotton. The pattern alternates star and floral shapes with leaves, set into a grid, with geometric cone and curved shapes forming a surrounding motif. It is said to have been crafted by one or more slaves of Mrs. William Winfree, the great great grandmother of William Williams Dupree. In some plantation households, weavers and seamstresses worked alongside their mistresses. Often they were loaned or "jobbed out" to neighboring plantations, as were shoemakers, saddlers, blacksmiths, horse trainers, cart drivers and furniture makers. Some of these men and women were able to make the transition from slavery to self-supporting artisans after emancipation.
Subject	Coverlets
Theme	Taking Care of Business Walking a Fine Line Holding Fast to Beauty
Story	John Pope Richard Poynor Lucy Virginia Smith French
Tags	Artisans; Women slaves
Geographic Location	United States--Tennessee--Memphis
Time period	1840-1849
Rights	Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Pink Palace Museum.
Credit line	Pink Palace Family of Museums, Donated by Joseph Niermann
Type	Still image
Format	image/jp2
Contributing Institution	Pink Palace Family of Museums
Digital Publisher	Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
Reference URL	http://content.mtsu.edu/u?/shades,177
Archival file	shades11/shades_ppm_0001.jpg