The Apotheosis of George Washington, circa 1785

British plate-printed textile

From handkerchiefs to curtains, British textiles were a major trade commodity in 18th-century North America. Following the end of the Revolutionary War and the 1783 Treaty of Paris, independence-themed textiles gained in popularity. This print represents half of a larger scene, “The Apotheosis of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin,” in circulation by 1785. In this fragment, Washington rides triumphant in a leopard-drawn chariot, accompanied by allegorical figures: a female representation of America proclaiming independence and Indigenous figures waving the 13-stripe U.S. flag and the Gadsden flag. Textiles at this scale were often used to decorate bedrooms.