Hand-held Fire Screen
EmbroidererAttributed to
Prudence Punderson
(American, 1758 - 1784)
Dateabout 1778-1780
MediumEmbroidery; silk thread on a plain-woven silk ground, wood
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height including handle x width): 15 3/16 x 10 3/4in. (38.6 x 27.3cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineGift of Newton C. Brainard
Object number1962.28.8
DescriptionFire screen consisting of a shaped plain-woven silk screen decorated with hand-stitched silk embroidery and supported by a hand-held wooden handle. The firescreen is worked in pink, white, green, black, brown, and light blue silk thread on a plain-woven dark green silk ground, using satin stitch and other stitches. One side of the firescreen is decorated with two birds, each over a small spray of flowers; this is surrounded by a circular wreath of purple grapes or berries on a vine. The opposite side is decorated with twelve sprays of flowers on a short stem.
The firescreen is constructed of a stiff board, or paper, between the two green silk sides of the screen; these layers are joined at the edge by hand-stitched light blue, bias-cut fabric binding. The wooden handle is constructed of a single piece of wood with a slit to support the screen; the upper portion of the handle has two nails to join the screen to the handle.
Stitches: The principal stitch on the firescreen is satin; it also includes encroaching satin, outline and flat.
Condition: There are a few very small holes in each side of the firescreen. The binding and handle are replaced.
The firescreen is constructed of a stiff board, or paper, between the two green silk sides of the screen; these layers are joined at the edge by hand-stitched light blue, bias-cut fabric binding. The wooden handle is constructed of a single piece of wood with a slit to support the screen; the upper portion of the handle has two nails to join the screen to the handle.
Stitches: The principal stitch on the firescreen is satin; it also includes encroaching satin, outline and flat.
Condition: There are a few very small holes in each side of the firescreen. The binding and handle are replaced.
Label TextThis delicately embroidered fire screen epitomizes late eighteenth-century
gentility. Made of expensive, imported silks, a firescreen was used to
protect the user’s face from fireplace heat. It evokes a lifestyle of wealth
and leisure, with time to dally before a well-stoked fire, hands free to hold
a screen, and mind engaged in polite conversation.
As small, genteel accessories, fire screens may have been given by Prudence
Punderson (Rossiter) as gifts to various relatives, which would account for
the different histories of ownership and present condition of screens in the
collection.
NotesSource Note: The embroidered birds on the firescreen are probably based on an image found in The Artists Vade-Mecum published by Robert Sayer in London in 1776. (Hunt 3/6/2007)gentility. Made of expensive, imported silks, a firescreen was used to
protect the user’s face from fireplace heat. It evokes a lifestyle of wealth
and leisure, with time to dally before a well-stoked fire, hands free to hold
a screen, and mind engaged in polite conversation.
As small, genteel accessories, fire screens may have been given by Prudence
Punderson (Rossiter) as gifts to various relatives, which would account for
the different histories of ownership and present condition of screens in the
collection.
Status
Not on view
Object/Object