Bedspread. Culture: British. Dimensions: L. 62 x W. 60 inches (157.5 x 152.4 cm). Date: late 17th century.The Portuguese were the first importers and consumers of Indian embroideries made for the European market, but at least a few appeared in England by the late sixteenth century. The taste for Indian embroidery influenced domestic design, and the English maker of this quilt included exotic pineapple-like flowers and the typical Indian palette of golden yellow thread on white. Fine imported Indian cotton was used for the ground fabric. The cotton is marked on the back with the initials G.C.E., for "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading in the East Indies," the name the English East India Company used from 1600 to 1708. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.