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Crewelwork embroidery
Child's blanket
Crewelwork embroidery
Embroidered by: Mary Fifield Adams (American, 1694–1748)
American
Colonial
first quarter of the 18th century
Place of Creation: Massachusetts, United States
Medium/Technique
Cotton and linen twill, embroidered with wool
Dimensions
Overall: 109.2 x 100.3 cm (43 x 39 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Miss Mary Avery White
Accession Number30.448
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionChild's bed cover; white cotton and linen twill (fustian), two pieces with abutting seam through center; wool embroidery (crewelwork) in deep floral borders and central flowers; chain stitch used extensively for outlines, stems, and filling; many petals filled in with buttonhole stitch; flower centers in bullion stitch; M and F in cross stitch on either side of large central flower; according to original label, "said to be initials of Mary Fifield who worked it and used it for christening her son Samuel Adams."
InscriptionsM F (in silk cross stitch)
ProvenanceEmbroidered by Mary Fifield (1694-1748) (who married Boston brewer Samuel Adams in 1713); Inherited by second child, Mary (Adams) Allen (b. 1717); Inherited by daughter Mary (Allen) Avery (1754[5]-1842) of Holden, Massachusetts; Inherited by eldest daughter, Mary (Avery) White (1778-1860), of Boylston, Massachusetts; Inherited by daughter Miss Mary Avery White (later Mary A. W. Davis); Gift to niece, Mary Avery White (daughter of Isaac Davis White and Elizabeth Hall Grosvenor), April 1, 1859; Gift to MFA, 1930