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Quilt 2016.609.6
Quilt, Appliquéd
Quilt 2016.609.6

Quilt, Appliquéd

Date1850-1860
Probably by Amanda W. Lankford (1835 - 1921)
OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Mason County
MediumPlain and printed cottons
DimensionsOW 77 ¼” X OH 89” (196.2 X 226 cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2016.609.6
DescriptionThis is a rectangular quilt with red, green, and pink printed cottons and solid yellow cottons appliquéd onto a white ground in a design consisting of nine large floral medallions, bordered by single and triple tulips growing from pots on all four sides. There is a folded 3/4" green printed binding on all four sides. The bedcover is quilted in 9 running stitches per inch with white cotton in a design of parallel lines. The quilt is backed in plain off-white cotton.
Label TextThis pristine and colorful red, pink, yellow, and green appliquéd quilt from Mason County, Kentucky joins only one other Kentucky quilt in the collection. The technique of appliqué involved sewing cut shapes down onto a larger ground fabric. In this quilt the cut edges of the appliqués were carefully turned under before they were finely stitched. The lively design consists of nine large floral medallions with a border of tulips. The red, pink, and green color scheme was a popular choice for quilters both on the east coast as well as the Backcountry during the mid nineteenth century. The quilt is attributed to Amanda Lankford Ryder (1835-1921) or her mother, Emily Saunders Lankford (1811-before 1860). It is thought to have been created for the September 1853 wedding of Amanda to Andrew J. Ryder (1828-1914) in Mason County, Kentucky. The couple had six surviving children, one of which Amanda lived with in her later life until her death in 1921. Funded by the Friends, the quilt will be exhibited in a future exhibition at the Art Museums.
ProvenanceHistory notes: According to a previous owner, the quilt was made by Amanda Lankford Ryder or her mother. The quilt may have been made for the September 1853 wedding of Amanda W. Lankford, born in Virginia (now West Virginia), to Andrew J. Ryder (1828-1914) in Mason County, Kentucky. Ryder was a painter. The couple had moved to Stark County, Illinois, by 1860.

History of Probably Quilt Maker:
Amanda W. Lankford was born November 7, 1835, in Virginia, probably Charleston, Kanawha County, now West Virginia. She was the third and second surviving child of Nathan Lankford (b. 1807 in Virginia) and Susan Emily Saunders (b. 1811 in New York). Nathan Lankford was a carpenter. The family moved from Virginia to Fleming County, KY, and then to Mason County, KY, by 1841. Amanda W. Lankford married Andrew J. Ryder (1828-1914) in 1853, in Mason County, KY. Andrew was a painter. Amanda and Andrew had eight children. By 1860, the family was living in Stark County, Illinois. Andrew died in1915, and Amanda lived with her married daughter Luella Ryder Grim and married grandson until she died in 1921.