Handkerchief owned by Harriet Tubman

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A square handkerchief made of machine-woven off-white linen or cotton with three borders of machine-made lacework. The innermost and outermost lacework motifs are bobbin lace designs of a chain with one thick and one thin link on a mesh ground. Between these two chain motifs is an embroidered stylized leafy vine between cutwork in a star pattern. The borders are seamed in each corner of the handkerchief, with pleats in the outermost layer at the corners. Stains on the creases are likely from storage, but several appear to be accidental stains from use.

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