Quilt
Artist
Maker unknown
(American)
Date1800-1850
MediumCotton
DimensionsOverall: 100 × 98in. (254 × 248.9cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineGift of Jane B. Sayre Bryant and David E. Bryant in memory of the Sayre Family
Object number86.46.130
DescriptionWhole cloth quilt of brown and cream roller-printed linen in the design of pillar and basket. The quilt top is assembled from 4 lengths of fabric (repeating every 21 inches) joined with whip stitching worked in off-white thread along the selvedges. The quilt consists of the top layer, white fill, and an undyed, plain weave lining fabric. The edges are bound with 1/2" undyed tape. The layers are quilted using running stitches worked in a diamond and scallop pattern.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextSome of the earliest American and European quilts are whole cloth quilts—those made of large lengths of fabric as opposed to many smaller pieces sewn together (commonly called patchwork). Printing fabric was a laborious process throughout most of the 18th century; block- or copper-printed textiles were expensive to produce and thus were a luxury. Some believe that the popularity of whole cloth quilts in the late 1700s and early 1800s was a result of the fact that quilt makers were reluctant to chop up this valuable commodity. Indeed, to display a large panel of fabric on a bedcover was a sign of status and wealth.
In the late 1700s, mechanized roller-printing revolutionized the textile industry, so while still a valuable material, printed fabrics became more widely available. In this example, the maker uses a brown roller-printed fabric with motifs of columns, vegetation, and baskets of flora to carry the decorative weight of the quilt. Subtle quilting emphasizes the printed patterns, which are drawn from neo-classical sources.
