Dreamed up by curator Claire McRee, two separate, but complementary exhibitions weave art with utility at the Allentown Art Museum, 31 N. Fifth St., Allentown, through Sept. 12.

“Sleep Tight! Bedcovers and Hangings from Around the World” in the Scheller Gallery focuses on the bedroom as the exhibition of decorative bedding tells stories of daily life, labor, kinship and migration across four continents and four centuries.

“I liked the idea of looking at a tradition and how it’s expressed in different cultures,” says McRee, “It’s something that is very accessible and relatable.”

The curator described how immigrants, from the Germans who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s, to the 20th century refugees from Laos, created new traditions by combining theirs with those from other cultures.

Among the textile treasures on display is a circa 1700s Greek bed tent from Kos, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the Aegean Sea.

McRee explains that these embroidered linen tents provided privacy for married couples living in one-room homes with other family members. The linen hung from a wooden ring from the ceiling and enclosed the marriage bed. The tradition lasted from the Middle Ages through the 1800s. Most of the interior tents were later divided among daughters, leaving only a few panels or pieces surviving.

According to McRee, the bed tent, along with towels, cushions and other household items were part of the bride’s dowry.

“Textiles in this era, before industrialization had taken over, are valuable. When a woman is getting married, a lot of the wealth that she’s bringing to her new household, and setting up her new household, is in textiles,” McRee explains.

Hanging nearby in the exhibition is a late-19th century Japanese futon cover created for a bride and groom. The resist-dyed cotton plain weave is a colorful example of tsutsugaki, where rice-paste designs are drawn on cloth through a tube. After dying the cloth, the paste is washed off and the decoration is hand-painted.

McRee describes the image of the hôô bird as a symbol of good fortune and fertility. “This was considered appropriate for the wedding night,” she says.

Other textile masterpieces on view include embroidered suzanis from Central Asia, Pennsylvania-German quilts and woven coverlets, and fanciful, but practical appliqué, quilted and embroidered needle art created by Hmong women from Southeast Asia.

“Roots: Sources for American Art and Design” in the Rodale Gallery examines hidden layers of meaning behind iconic American aesthetics. Works by Plains and Northwest Coast Native Americans, abstract quilts by African-Americans from Gee’s Bend, Ala., and iconic furniture built by the Shakers are compared and contrasted with art and designs that were inspired by these traditions.

The exhibitions draw artifacts from the museum’s permanent collection.

“Sleep Tight!” is supported through the Bernard and Audrey Berman Foundation and the Leon C. and June W. Holt Endowment.

“Roots” is made possible through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership with the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the Art Bridges Initiative.

Allentown Art Museum, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Thursday - Sunday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Third Thursdays. www.allentownartmuseum.org; 610-432-4333

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com