She Blows!!! Welcome mat with whaling scene
Date1875 - 1900
Object number00006154
NameWelcome mat
MediumTextile: Wool, cotton
DimensionsOverall: 616 x 788 mm
ClassificationsDecorative and folk art
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
Collections
DescriptionAn American made welcome mat depicting a whaling scene. Inscribed 'Welcome' at top and 'She Blows!!!' at bottom. A looped pile rug made on a coarse tabby weave linen ground, hessian backing, worked in polychrome fabrics of differing textiles.HistoryGenerally considered a rural craft, these type of rugs were widely made and used in the middle to late nineteenth century and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. Believed to be indigenous to North America, the earliest examples came from Maritme regions of Canada and Northern New England. The rug maker could recyle scraps of fabric into useful and decorative floor coverings. The pile surface was made by using a hook to pull a narrow strip of cloth through a coarsely woven foundation fabric in a series of loops. Designs for hooked rugs were geometric, or based on flowers and animals or copied from printed illustrations .SignificanceThe United States dominated the whaling industry in the early to mid C19th, it was a source of great pride and commerce to those areas whose lived in the area of New England.
before 1629
