<em>Linen Press</em>, 17th century. Oak, 76 3/4 x 27 13/16 x 23 5/8 in. (195 x 70.6 x 60 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brookyln Museum Collection, 12.877. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.877_acetate_bw.jpg)

Linen Press, 17th century. Oak, 76 3/4 x 27 13/16 x 23 5/8 in. (195 x 70.6 x 60 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brookyln Museum Collection, 12.877. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.877_acetate_bw.jpg)

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Hi! We are wondering what this is.

This is a 17th-century Dutch linen press. Table and bed linens were prized possessions in households like this one. They would most likely have been imported and were quite costly. If you'd like to see the linen press "in action," take a look at the video screen nearby. You'll see Museum staff operating it.

What is this?

That is a 17th century Dutch linen press. In this period, textiles had to be woven by hand and so they were prized possessions. Dutch families would have taken very good care of their linens, which were pressed, folded and stored neatly in large kas cabinets, like the one in the next room. If you look at 17th century Dutch still life paintings, you will often see the inclusion of crisp, white linens. The museum has recorded a video of the press in use!

Linen Press

Decorative Arts and Design

On View: Decorative Art, Schenck Gallery, 4th Floor

MEDIUM Oak

DATES 17th century

DIMENSIONS 76 3/4 x 27 13/16 x 23 5/8 in. (195 x 70.6 x 60 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts and Design

ACCESSION NUMBER 12.877

CREDIT LINE Brookyln Museum Collection

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Decorative Art, Schenck Gallery, 4th Floor

CAPTION Linen Press, 17th century. Oak, 76 3/4 x 27 13/16 x 23 5/8 in. (195 x 70.6 x 60 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brookyln Museum Collection, 12.877. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.877_acetate_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 12.877_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Hi! We are wondering what this is.

What is this?