Quilt, Pieced Star of Bethlehem

DatePiecing and applique: ca. 1835; Quilting: probably ca. 1900

Maker Unidentified

MediumPlain and printed cottons

DimensionsOH: 99 ½” x OW: 105”

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2022.609.6

DescriptionThis is a pieced and appliquéd quilt with a large, pieced Star of Bethlehem in the center, pieced La Moyne stars in inner border, and appliquéd chintz-work palm trees filling the void areas between the points of the large center star. There are seventeen consecutive rings of diamonds that create the center Star of Bethlehem. Appliquéd motifs of palm trees and palm trees with pheasants fill the empty areas between the points of the large center star. The first inner border measures five inches wide and consists of blue diamonds on a gold background with corner posts of a pieced blue star. The second border, eight inches wide, features eight-pointed stars (La Moyne stars) in a variety of colors. The outer border, six inches wide, repeats the pieced diamond arrangement. The backing is made up of two pieces of plain cream cotton, approximately 54” wide, which has been brought to the front and machine stitched at ¼’ width. The quilt is hand quilted in an outline pattern using running stitches, approximately 4 inches per inch.
Label TextThis visually spectacular quilt was created using two quilt-making techniques--piecing and appliqué. Pieced quilts were created by stitching together small shapes of fabric to make one larger design. The piecing was often based on repeating patterns, especially geometric ones such as circles, squares, diamonds, triangles, and rectangles. In this quilt the large center star, which is known as The Star of Bethlehem, Lone Star, and Mathematical Star, is made up of seventeen consecutive rings of pieced diamonds.The eight-pointed stars and diamonds in the borders are also pieced.

The late 18th- and early 19th-century technique of cutting out printed designs (such as flowers, trees, and birds) from printed cotton or chintz and sewing them to a ground fabric is known today by the terms chintz appliqué or chintz work. In this quilt the empty areas between the points of the large star are filled in with chintz appliquéd palm tree-and-pheasant motifs.

The quilt is from the personal collection of the legendary Florence Peto (1881-1970), an early-twentieth-century pioneer, author, and historian in the revival of quilts in America.

ProvenanceEx-collection: Florence Peto (1881-1970)
Acquired by Pamela Pampe in 2012 from the descendants of Florence Peto.
Per Pamela Pampe: "The family always knew this quilt as the Civil War quilt, but they have lost the note written by Florence that explains why she called it that name."