Quilted Petticoat Fragment

Date1745-1760

OriginAmerica, Connecticut or Rhode Island

MediumWool

DimensionsWidth:21"; Length: 35"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1967-510,1

DescriptionRectangular fragment of quilted petticoat in bright red glazed wool backed with mustard wool, with wool batting. Quilted with half-back stitches in yellow silk. The top features diamonds, and the bottom border is quilted in florals, twin stags, a squirrel, birds in trees, and a man facing woman carrying fan. Pocket slit have been sewn closed. Modern hems finish the sides and top, stitched with running stitches. The hem is faced with tape.

Construction History:
1. 1745-1760: Initial Construction
2. The hem and facing of red tape was done later.
Label TextFragment of Petticoat
Design attributed to Sarah Osborn or her school
Rhode Island, 1745-1760
Although only small fragments survive, this must have been a striking petticoat when it was new. In this panel, a squirrel bends over an acorn, completely out of scale with a pair of deer and a bird. At the far right, a man greets a woman who holds a fan.

Some petticoat quilters in southern Connecticut and nearby Rhode Island favored pictorial designs of humans, real and mythological animals, and scrolling foliage. These distinctive motifs appear to be the inspiration of Sarah Osborn, a boarding schoolteacher in Newport, Rhode Island, who drew designs for her students and neighbors to quilt.
ProvenanceEx. Coll Katherine Prentis Murphy, estate of.
Maker unidentified.

Exhibition(s)