A vintage American hand-hooked rug of delightful originality and wit — a standing squirrel depicted with charming expressiveness against a khaki background, in design colors of lavender, red, green, yellow, and white. The maker's creativity and imagination in choosing such an unusual and rare subject, and realizing it with this freshness of color and form, make this piece a genuine standout in any collection of American folk textiles.
This rug is best displayed as wall art — its compact format and pictorial subject give it all the qualities of a small painting, and the burlap foundation holds a hook easily and securely for wall mounting. Note that the companion piece to this rug is SKU 2040 — a depiction of two birds in a tree nest created by the same artist. The American hooked rug tradition originated in New England in the early 19th century, when resourceful farm families — particularly women working through the long winters of the rural Northeast — began creating decorative floor coverings by hooking loops of recycled wool and fabric strips through a burlap or linen backing using a simple hook. The resulting textiles combine utility with extraordinary artistry, and the finest examples are now collected as works of American folk art.
