Linens

Hill-Stead’s linen and textile collection includes several Japanese silk and tapestry table mats and table runners collected during family travels, as well as numerous pieces of table linens, bedding and bath towels, many of which are monogrammed. The colored borders of bath linens coordinate with the décor of family and guest bedroom suites.

Decorative Linens

Throughout the first floor rooms of Hill-Stead Asian silk mats can be found on nearly every flat table surface. They are made in combinations of silk embroidery, metallic brocade, and tapestry weaves. Of note is the large Japanese kesa, made from or modeled after the robes of Buddhist priests, and used as a runner on the large Dining Room table. This and other similarly-sized large silk table covers pair beautifully with the overall color scheme of the Dining Room and with nearly all the Popes’ china patterns. Other notable decorative textiles included framed silk embroideries, an 18th-century fire screen, and a tapestry-covered footstool that dates to the late 17th or early 18th century.

Hill-Stead Decorative Linen Kesa cloth closeup 1

Photo by Deborah Key.

Kesa
86 x 44 ½ in.

Of note is the large Japanese kesa, made from or modeled after the robes of Buddhist priests, and used as a runner on the large Dining Room table. The overall green color with accents of blue, bronze, and gold coordinate perfectly with the decoré of Hill-Stead’s dining room, particularly with Edgar Degas’ Jockeys as well as several sets of china that Mrs. Pope collected.

Hill-Stead Needlework Footstool

Photo by Deborah Key.

  Footstool, Tapestry covered
Late 17th or early 18th century

Hill-Stead Collection Furniture Tapestry Screen

Photo by Deborah Key.

Pole Screen
England, 1760
Panel of silk and wool petit point in tobacco leaf and floral pattern.

Utilitarian Linens

An expansive collection of linens attests to the number of dinner parties and overnight guests the Popes and Riddles hosted over the years. The specially-outfitted Linen Storage Room still houses stacks upon stacks of embroidered linen table wares — table cloths, napkins in all sizes for tea, luncheon, and formal dinner; numerous doilies and tea towels in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. Nearly all table wares are embellished with Ada Brooks Pope’s signature monogram: an elaborate curvilinear design that she used also for silverware and stationery. Bath linens are also monogrammed with an ABP, and color coordinated to the various family and guest bedrooms. Bed linens also abound; linen sheets with Theodate Pope Riddle’s plainer and more geometric monogram, silk boudoir quilts from the 1920s and 30s, and wool blankets in both winter and summer weights. There are a great many lace and linen bureau scarves as well.

Hill-Stead Linens Utilitarian hand towels

Photo by Deborah Key.

Hand towel with Ada Pope’s signature monogram

Hill-Stead Linens Utilitarian hand towels monogram

Photo by Deborah Key.

Hand towel with Ada Pope’s signature monogram

Detail of pillowcase with Theodate Pope Riddle’s signature monogram

46-1-2153, QuiltBoudoir quilt
Silk, ca. 1920s-30s

Family and overnight guests would have slumbered soundly beneath a light-as-air, down-filled, boudoir quilt. The collection contains several such quilts color coordinated to the various bedrooms in shades of pale pink, deep raspberry, and gold.