Quilt, Pieced Hexagons

Date1835-1850

Artist/Maker Tillman-Johnson Family Member

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Fluvanna County

MediumPieced cotton; stitching threads linen; batting cotton.

Dimensions112" x 110 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1999.609.1

DescriptionAlmost-square quilt, pieced from numerous small hexagons of white woven dimity and multicolored printed cottons in stylized hexagonal rosettes in the pattern sometimes known as Mosaic, Honeycomb, Six-sided Patchwork, or Grandmother's Flower Garden. The motifs are arranged with lights and darks forming a center circle on the quilt. The backing is white cotton. The quilt is quilted with linen running stitches of 8 to 10 per inch.
Label TextHexagon Quilt
Made by a member of the Tillman or Johnson family
Fluvanna County, Virginia, 1835-1850
Printed and solid cottons
112" x 110 1/2"
1999.609.1
This scintillating quilt is constructed from thousands of precisely cut hexagons, each measuring 1 3/8" across. By carefully selecting dark and light printed cottons and alternating them with whites, the quiltmaker created hexagonal abstract "flowers" that appear to radiate from a center point against a white ground. The decorative top is quilted to thin batting and white cotton backing using running stitches. The pattern has been known by various names over the years, including Mosaic, Honeycomb, Six-sided Patchwork, and the more colorful description, Grandmother's Flower Garden. (2008)

ProvenanceDescended in the Tillman-Johnson family; made by a family member.