When the industry of copperplate-printed fabrics developed in England during the second half of the eighteenth century, birds were among the many popular motifs that transformed plain cloths into pictorial canvases. In this exquisite example, crested birds perch delicately on serpentine floral branches, while other birds swoop amongst the exotic foliage. The detailed naturalism of the flowers, leaves, branches and birds illustrates the talents of a highly skilled engraver. With its fineness of design, high-quality printing, and discernible Chinoiserie influences, this fabric relates to documented cottons from the well-known English textile firm of Bromley Hall. This innovative technique was a definitive departure from the ancient process of wood-block printing. The engraved copperplates allowed for a precision of line and detail which was previously unobtainable. While printing from copperplates limits the palette to monochromatic designs, it is this feature which now defines and identifies these archetypal documents of European textile printing.

This fine coverlet is quilted and lined with block-printed cotton with an allover pattern of vertical stripes of small flowerheads in yellow, red and black. The edges are bound with linen tape.