Coverlet, woven double cloth

This double-cloth coverlet, made from indigo blue dyed wool and undyed white cotton is completely reversible. It is the first woven coverlet to enter our collection from Indiana, and was made by a member of the Craig family weavers. The Craigs (William Craig, Sr., (1800-1880) William Craig, Jr. (1824-1880), and James Craig (1823-1889) wove from the early 1840s through the early 1860s. There was also a cousin, also named James Craig (1819-1896) who wove with the group. William Craig, Sr. immigrated to America in 1820 from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, where he was first trained to weave. After spending time as a foreman of a cotton good factory in South Carolina, in 1832 the Craigs moved to Indiana, where they spent time in both Floyd and Decatur counties. The Craig family weavers were extremely prolific and their coverlets were much sought after. Well over 130 coverlets are still extant that can be attributed to the group.

While the Craigs wove many different patterns over the years, this piece is an example of one of their most attractive and interesting patterns. The ground pattern of peacocks feeding their young is particularly lush and masterful. The side borders depicting alternating churches, mosques, and cabins, is known as the "Christians and Heathens" pattern. This pattern is very unusual in showing domed mosques among the decorative buildings, and it is interesting to speculate as to the resonance it might have had to people in rural Indiana in 1844.