Object Number 2015.0028.001 C

Object Name

Tool (for textiles) (Beater)

Category

Tools

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase with funds provided by Mrs. Jeanne L. Asplundh

Place of Origin

Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1740-1800

Materials

Pine, hard; Oak, red; Leather; Iron

Dimensions (inches)

49 (H) , 59 (L) , 2.5 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

124.46 (H) , 149.86 (L) , 6.35 (W)

Object Description

Web - 12/15/2016

This beater is part of a loom that was used in southeastern Pennsylvania for over two hundred years. The beater holds the reed, which separate each individual thread in the warp and keeps them the proper distance apart. The weaver also uses the beater to even out his fabric. After the weaver has thrown his shuttle across the warp threads, he grips the handhold carved into the beater and pulls the entire assembly toward him so that the reed 'beats' the new weft thread into place. The intensity with which the weaver beats the weft determines the density of the finished fabric.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Pritchard, M. E. 1954 A Short Dictionary of Weaving: Including Some Spinning, Dyeing and Textile Terms and a Beginner's Guide to Weaving and Dyeing. 196.
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