‘Now Nothing are so Numerous’

Abstract

Piled carpets, whether of Eastern or European production, appeared in colonial homes soon after the colonisation of North America in the early 17th century. Initially displayed on tables and cupboards, they were subsequently used as floor coverings in the homes of political and social elites. Over the 18th century Eastern carpets appear to have lost their original semiotic function: ‘English’ having become synonymous with elegance, led colonial consumers increasingly to substitute carpets made in Great Britain for those imported from Persia or Turkey; this shift was motivated in large part by both the wider range of English styles and their lower cost. Probate inventories provide much of the information on the position of carpets in colonial homes. Such data are subject to various shortcomings, which are noted and discussed, especially in relation to their use as valuation measures.