Quilt, Pink-Red Worsted Wholecloth, Dated 1791

Date1791 (dated in the quilting along border)

MediumWool, linen

DimensionsOverall (L x W): 93 x 87 1/2 in. (236.2 x 222.3cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1959-129

DescriptionThis rectangular quilt is made of pink-red plain-woven glazed wool. The backing is plain-woven using grey linen warp and streaked brown wool weft. The batting and the quilting threads are wool. The quilting pattern consists of large, undulating stems bearing leaves, flowers, and berries. The design is laid out asymmetrically without any exact repetition of motifs. All four sides are bordered with a scalloped design with the curve oriented clockwise. At the center bottom, on either side of a palmette, are rectangular reserves with “CH” and “1791” quilted into them. The edges of the face and the lining are turned to the inside and stitched. It is quilted in 9-12 running stitches per inch.
Label TextThe maker of this bedcover, known only by the initials CH quilted into the center bottom, created an undulating asymmetrical pattern of large-scale flowers and leaves that brings to mind designs of the early to middle eighteenth century. However, the 1791 date stitched next to the initials reveals that some quilters retained conservative designs even after neoclassical design had influenced decorative arts. The quilt helps scholars assign dates to related quilts with similar characteristics.
The face of the quilt is made of plain-woven glazed worsted. The plain-woven brown backing is a combination of linen warp and wool weft, sometimes called linsey-woolsey, and the filling is wool fibers. All of the layers are stitched with wool running stitches.

Markings"CH 1791"
ProvenanceObtained by Avis and Rockwell Gardiner, Stamford, CT;
Sold to CWF, 1959.

Exhibition(s)