Bedspread
Bedspread
Bedspread

Bedspread

Object number2022.19.1
Date1940-1949
OriginSanta Elisabetta, Sicily, Italy
MediumFabric; Velvet; Silk velvet(?)
Credit LineGift of Lois Mongiovi McCafferty
DescriptionRectangular tapestry bedspread. Yellow background with high pile velvet decoration; high pile details are surrounded by yellow woven background in a style similar to burnout velvet. Decoration includes vibrant and colorful flowers (pink, orange, red), putti, curvilinear details, dots, and linear patterns. Top edge is simple. Left, right, and bottom edges have thin twisted yellow thread openwork border with pink and green velvet bands and thick yellow velvet fringe around perimeter. Reverse is yellow woven fabric with front's design visible.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 87 x 103 x 0.75 in. (221 x 261.6 x 1.9 cm)
Historical NotesThis tapestry bedspread came to Pittsburgh from Santa Elisabetta, Sicily with the Mongiovi family. The family, Salvatore Mongiovi, Roselia Conti, and their three children, immigrated in 1951 to the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Bloomfield, where Salvatore and Roselia had seven more children. Roselia’s aunt Giuseppa Sicorello and uncle Giuseppe Ortolano gave her the bedspread to take to their new home. It was only displayed a few times a year for special occasions. The donor remembers admiring it as a child when her mother put it out in the bedroom. This bright style was popular in the 1940s in Southern Italy.
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