Mr. Jeremiah Lee 

 by John Singleton Copley, 1769 

 [Courtesy oj W'adsivoitk Atheneum, Hartford, Conn.) 



Figure 3. — The Turkey carpet with fringed ends 

 shown in this portrait was presumably used in 

 Colonel Lee's newly built, three-story mansion in 

 Marblehead, Massachusetts. Other indications of 

 the merchant's wealth and importance are the 

 ornate gilded table, gleaming silver inkstand, and 

 drapery of elegant fabric. 



obtain one in London reveals clearly that the supply 

 of Oriental carpets in the colonies was limited. 



While it is not certain whether fashion, prestige, or 

 prudent investment accounted for the desires of 

 Charles Carroll and Benjamin Franklin to have 

 Turkey carpets, the fact that these carpets appear in 

 both American and English portraits suggests that a 

 certain amount of prestige was associated with the 



ownership of such a floor covering. A case in point 

 is the portrait Mr. Jeremiah Lee (fig. 3), painted in 

 1769 by John Singleton Copley, in which the pros- 

 perous merchant of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is 

 shown standing on a Turkey carpet.'' Presumably 

 the carpet was a possession of which Lee was proud 

 and which he considered appropriate to his position 

 in society. 



Most Turkey carpets used as floor coverings seem 

 to have been of a considerable size. The actual 

 dimensions of Oriental carpets given in a few instances 

 in newspaper advertisements already cited tend to 

 confirm this and to indicate that there were two 

 categories of sizes, "large" and "very large." A 

 Turkey carpet measuring 11 '2 by 1814 feet was 

 described as "very large." The previously mentioned 

 "Rich Persian carpets" with dimensions 12 by 12, 

 and 12 by 15 feet also would be in the "very large'' 

 category. A few of the Orientals used at "Richmond 

 Hill," Aaron Burr's residence in New York City, 

 fit this category since two for which dimensions were 

 given were over 12 feet long. Besides the "1 Elegant 

 Turkey carpet & 2 recess pieces" located in the 

 "Blue or drawing room," the garret storeroom con- 

 tained the following floor coverings according to 



the "Ii 



of Furnittu'c""* taken in 1797: 



Inventory 



1 Ttirkey Carpet 12.6 by 11.6 



1 ditto ditto 12 by 11.6 



1 Turkey Carpet 10.6 by 6.6 



1 Small carpet green and White. 



While carpets measuring over 12 feet were de- 

 scribed as "very large," those with dimensions under 

 12 feet were usually termed, simply, "large." For 

 instance, the "one handsome large Carpet" that 

 was advertised to be sold by public vendue in the 

 Boston .News-Letter of May 8, 1735, meastired "9 Foot 

 6 Inches by 6 Foot 6 Inches." Consequently, the 

 previously cited Persians with 9- by 9- foot dimensions 

 would have been considered "large," also. The "large 

 Carpets" that were advertised for sale in the Boston 

 .News-Letter on June 5, 1735, and April 15 of the 

 following year were probably of corresponding pro- 

 portions and perhaps of Near Eastern origin, too, 



"Joseph V. McMullan, "The Oriental 'Carpitt' in 

 Colonial America," The Concise Encyclopedia of .American .Antiques, 

 edit. Helen C'omstock (New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 

 [1958]), vol. I, p. 209. 



" "The Furnishings of Richmond Hill in 1797. The Home 

 of Aaron Burr in New York City," Ttie New-York Historical 

 Society Quarterly Bulletin (April 1927), vol. 1 1, pp. 17-23. 



8 



BULLETIN 250: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



