To: XXXXXX
Subject: Re: Underground Railroad information
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 13:23:14 -0600
I am up to my eyeballs at present, but will give you a brief impression: As far as I can tell from the description you linked to, as well as the owners' website (www.islc.net/~cypresscultural/Underground%20Railroad.htm) no provenance indicates that this piece was made in the antebellum years or that it *originated* in the South, let alone that it was slave-made. Vegetable-dyed textiles - woolens in particular, because they are more colorfast - were common in rural areas throughout the US well into the early 20th century. I would be interested to know who the quilt specialist and textile conservator were, and how they arrived at a c.1850s date. Naming them would certainly add to the claim's credibility. Absent such provenance, I question the assertion that it is "a rare form of African-American art".
The popular 21st century idea of 19th century African-American textile art has little basis in reality. In fact, the common denominator in patterning seems to be socioeconomics, not race. Speaking of socioeconomics, the rug is made from yarn rathern than narrow strips cut from old wool fabric - suggesting that not only had the maker the free time to make this piece; she had access to yarn for a purely decorative purpose, and did not need to make a piece of clothing from it.
I question the phrase, "Hooking a pattern is not like cutting out a pattern and sewing it onto a quilt. The symbols had to be modified to be stitched easily". Hooked rugs are made loop by loop, so it is possible to achieve quite a bit of detail, if the maker so wishes - much more so than in the most detailed applique quilt. But if "the resulting patterns may be difficult to interpret," one must wonder: what good would it be hung outside as a signal or map?
There are no dimensions for this piece. If it were made from a single piece of "feedsack", it could not be more than 36"x48" (the size of a 50lb. bag) which seems kind of small for a bedcovering. If I recall correctly, commercial sacks were introduced after the Civil War.
The very concept of "feedsack" in the 19th century seems a bit unlikely, as it presumes that an otherwise self-sufficient farm would depend on commercially-produced feed for its poultry. (I am pretty sure commerical feed is a late 19th or early 20th century invention.)
To me, the "drinking gourd" looks an awful lot like the flower between the "NB" at one end of the rug, and what are described as "trees" and a "river" look to me like the sort of vining borders first seen in mid-19th century applique quilts. I don't see a "quail", nor any disembodied leg, nor can I imagine what messages they might convey on a map.
Finally, nobody - including the authors of "Hidden in Plain View - has come up with any primary evidence, anywhere, of any "code" being used by slaves in quilts or other textiles to be used in escape. (Even African-Amerian quilt historian Cuesta Benberry now admits she has found no indication such a "code" ever existed.) Logic, and the known history of the Underground Railroad points to exactly the opposite. Among other things, escaped slaves did not need to read a "map". Those few that used the Underground Railroad had "conductors" guide them from one safe house to another.
I think what the owner possesses is a lovely hooked rug, probably around 100 years old, made of vegetable-dyed yarn in a central medallion design reminiscent of the Log Cabin quilt (introduced in the North in the mid-1860s) containing a central vine, and with initials of four people whose last names all begin with "B" in the borders.
It might be useful for the owners to talk to Tracy Jamar, who specializes in hooked rug restoration. From what reading I have done I am beginning to wonder whether a needlepunched yarn rug would even have been made in the first half of the 19th century. I think Ms. Jamar might be able to shed some light on the subject, as well as give an opinion on the region where the rug originated. Her email can be found on this page:
http://www.antiquequiltdating.com/HookedRugs-Jamar.html
Leigh Fellner
From: "Cypress Cultural Consultants"
To: XXXXXX
CC: Leigh Fellner, XXXXXXXX
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: Stitched Rug
An interesting opinion on the rug. I am in disagreement , however, on some of the premises that Leigh has named concerning this piece. If every item that surfaced was judged on provenances than we hardly have anything to study! A common misconception is present here when an assumption is made that 19th Century African-Americans only may used cut strips from wool fabrics because they were probably deprived of socioeconomic access and time to use spun woolen yarn. This has little basis in reality and is simply not true. Not only were these items probably readily available but not uncommon even with slaves in the antebellum south. The idea of depriving slaves of common items such as these are now recognized as a belief rather than factual. (New Archeological studies have shed light much on this fact). Feed Sack is also a term that doesn't mean "Chicken Feed Sack" it was a fabric with many uses that started showing up more regularly in the 1850's and not just after the Civil War. It would have been more common near railroad routes of this time period. Also this was not a bedcovering!!!! A bed rug was a quite common item to travel with as an extra cloth for whatever might be needed (i.e. cover a draft on a window or on the feet). It was not the size of a bed!
Unfortunately we can't see clearly what kind of "sack" it might be which has been difficult. (different weaves can tell us about time periods). As for the textile expert and others we have shown it to, I would have to compile the list which I will not do presently in this email. I agree this is a critical point. It seems to have passed every test so far. It will be looked at by another textile expert at the Smithsonian by the end of this year. The drinking gourd is clearly present. (there is a flower type item on the rug which my be what Leigh is talking about). This is as good a depiction of the dipper as I have ever seen! A quail or a similar type item is also possibly present. Here I disagree with Leigh point blank. It is a well know fact that hooked rugs were quite difficult to translate into symbols visually on their surfaces. As a result, it is difficult to obtain the intended "picture" which often is blurry and questionable what was really intended in the designs. This is the designing flaw of these types of primitive rugs. (I could footnote this fact in a well documented book on early hook rugs but I do not have it in front of me). Blankets are much better in this translation. The rug in question is covered with all types of symbols whether you choose to see them or not. And they are definitely open to some debate. It might be believed that the vegetable-dyed yarns might have been introduced and reminiscent of similar items introduced in the North, has nothing to do with telling us about surfacing examples such as the rug in question. Especially if they happen to have originated in the South. There are so few examples of anything like this from the South, that it could be argued strongly that no one has a clear understanding of textile creation in the south as far as African-American items are concerned. (this is because of several economic factors in the deep south that can't be denied). There is also a tremendous miscommunication and knowledge of many African-American crafts, symbols and textile creations. Anyone, "expert" or others, claiming anything to the contrary is just not facing facts or the lack thereof. I was especially perplexed with the fact that some "experts" looked at this piece and claimed no African-American affiliation while other knowledgeable individuals were 100% sure that it was. Who is right? My point is that the period examples that can be drawn from for comparisons are just not there. Maybe in the better document north, but not in the south. Whatever the origin and date of this rug is, it will continued to be shown to a variety of the best individuals we can find around the country. If I have learned one thing about this subject it is that a lot of people are not admitting the obvious. This is a study of an area that may be on the "cutting edge" so the speak. There is much to keep learning about and keeping our mind open about here. There is a lot of poorly based and learned knowledge out there so we have to take the"experts" with a grain of salt. Keep checking with us and we may know more soon. Dan.