Quilt, Pieced Star of Bethlehem

Dateca. 1840

MediumPrinted cottons

DimensionsOH: 94 1/4" x OH: 100"

Credit LineGift of Miriam Le Vin

Object number1974.609.2

DescriptionThis pieced "Star of Bethlehem" quilt is constructed of plain and printed cottons in shades of red, green, blue, off-white, and brown. The star has been set into a larger surrounding area of an off-white and brown floral glazed chintz cotton. The chintz has been pieced together of several smaller pieces to achieve the desired size fabric. The quilt has been poorly executed. As a result there are many creases and puckers in the fabric, three of the corners are folded under and stitched, the star is off-center, and much of the edge is uneven. The quilt is backed with a brown, off-white, and green rose floral printed cotton. There is a thin batting. The top and backing are folded inward and stitched in place along one edge. The other three edges are finished off by folding the backing upwards creating a binding on the front of the quilt. The bedcover is quilted in a diagonal pattern in the background chintz material and following each triangle in the star pattern in 7-8 running stitches per inch.
Label TextThe Star of Bethlehem is one of the more difficult quilt patterns to make since each diamond piece radiating from the center must accommodate the points of two other diamonds. The slightest error in measurement or piecing would cause the entire motif to be thrown out of line by the time the Star reached completion. This Star has been set with a border of chintz, an arrangement common in the first half of the nineteenth century.
ProvenanceNo provenance other than donor is known.