Quilt, Stenciled and Pieced Ohio Star

Date1820-1840

MediumPlain and printed cottons; stencil paint or pigment; cotton batting

DimensionsOH 92" (233.6 cm); OW 81" (205.7 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Jason R. (Grace H.) Westerfield

Object number1974.609.29

DescriptionThis is a quilt consisting of blue printed cotton triangles and squares pieced together in an Ohio Star pattern. These patches are pieced together with solid white cotton onto which a design of red rose-like flowers with yellow centers and green vines has been stenciled. Roses and vines form outer the border. The edge is bound with blue printed cotton. The quilt is stuffed with cotton and quilted in a pattern that follows the design of the motifs in 8 running stitches per inch. It is backed in white plain-woven cotton.
Label TextTwo techniques were employed in the creation of this quilt: piecing and stenciling. Blue printed cotton and white cotton textiles were pieced together to form a variable star pattern, while floral designs were stenciled on alternate squares. Stars fill the four corner blocks, and a stenciled floral border completes the design.

Stenciled textiles are rare and relatively few have ever been found. They were made in the early nineteenth century primarily in the New York and New England areas. Stenciling was popular in the first half of the nineteenth century for furniture, floors, walls, and textiles. Stenciling could have served as a substitute for the more involved and intricate embroidered spreads of the day.
ProvenanceThe quilt is from the estate of Grace Hartshorn Westerfield (1885-1974). No further provenance or maker is known.