This springtime lamb is a new arrival in the textile conservation lab! The conservation department is getting ready for A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, opening June 9, and this piece is amongst the “special guests” visiting the Cincinnati Art Museum as part of the exhibition. The ruffle will be getting a custom-made mount to help it look its best and keep it safe while on display. The little lamb and his surroundings are embroidered with homespun wool on linen ground and dates from the 18^th or 19^th centuries. 

Image Credit: Petticoat Ruffle, 7 ½ x 43 ½ in. (19.1 x 110.5 cm); rod 48 in. (121.9 cm), Loan, Collection of Dr. Dale and Mrs. Ann Knight Gutman, L2.2017:76.