Toile Fragment

Toile Fragment, “The Apotheosis of Washington and Franklin”
England or Ireland, ca. 1785-1800
Cotton
Gift of the Stephen Phillips Memorial Charitable Trust for Historic Preservation 

The framed toile fragment belonged to a set of printed bedroom linens owned by Peggy Duncan (1769-1858) of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The design features a scene of George Washington driving a chariot with the allegorical figure of America while Benjamin Franklin accompanies the figure of Liberty. The imagery derived from John Trumbull’s portrait of Washington and Giovanni Battista Nini’s medallion of Franklin. The Duncan family divided what remained of the original set of a bed spread, curtains, and valance. Surviving fragments were later sold to early twentieth-century collectors as “valuable curiosities,” according to a note on the back of the frame.