Pair of table linens with embroidered butterfly

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A pair of table linens with embroidered butterflies. The linens have a scalloped edge with irregular points, bound with cream thread. There is a mirrored pattern of curved, embroidered lines that create a “U” shaped border around a 2” wide butterfly or moth that has cutwork circles for its head and one for each wing – three in total. Four cutwork circles are also present at the bottom of the “U” shaped border. At the halfway mark, where the pattern mirrors itself, are two embroidered cutwork circles. There is no label and all the embroidery is done by machine.

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