Apotheosis of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington
Datec.1785-1800
Medium/TechniqueCotton, linen
DimensionsOverall (H x W): 15 1/8 in. x 31 1/4 in. (38.42 cm x 79.38 cm)
Credit LineGift of Jeanne Shields (Mrs. Nelson T. Shields III), Vice Regent Emerita for Delaware, 2013
Object numberM-5316
DescriptionThis patriotic toile is copperplate printed in red onto a balanced plain woven ground with Z-spun linen warps and S-spun cotton wefts. The portion of the print shown in the fragment portrays George Washington in regimentals leading a chariot accompanied by a Grecian goddess. His arrival is announced by two Native Americans blowing into trumpets strung with a striped flag and Franklin's segmented snake flag. Calvary officers are seen in the background. On the left stands a Liberty Tree. The paper is nailed to the tree upside down that says "Stamp Act." While the tree on the left and the other framing leafs on the right are oak, an evergreen branch is grafted onto the Liberty Tree. At the upper right of the fragment, the bottom of another motif is seen: the feet of Benjamin Franklin and Liberty. Liberty wears sandals, which fits with her allegorical persona, but Benjamin Franklin wears house slippers. There are evidence of seams along all edges of the fragment with 1/4 inch seam allowances. While most of the thread has been removed, a small Z-spun 2-ply S piece remains in the stitch line along the bottom of the fragment.
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