Quilt, Stenciled

Date1825-1850

MediumCotton (fiber identification by microscope); stencil paint

Dimensions88 3/4 x 77 1/2" (225.5 cm. x 197.0 cm.) The face fabric is about 30 3/4 to 32" wide; the backings range from about 25 to 27 1/2" (excluding seam allowances)

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr.

Object number1977.609.3

DescriptionThis is a rectangular bed quilt decorated with stenciled roses, buds, and leaves in red (now faded), green, and yellow. The center field of the quilt has eighteen separate large roses with small curved stems and leaves, arranged in four vertical rows with the outside edges containing four roses each and the inner two rows containing five roses each. The roses are all facing toward the center in a mirror arrangement. A border of flowers and leaves outlines the sides and bottom, delineating what was originally intended to be a T-shaped bedcover. Plain white fabric is inset into the two bottom corners, filling in the T shape and creating a rectangular quilt. The running-stitch quilting outlines or "contours" the stenciled flowers; the non-stenciled areas also include quilted feathered circles in two sizes and curving feathered crosses. The edges are bound with white straight-grain fabric. The backing is white cotton.
Label TextStenciling was a widely popular means of decorating floors, walls, furniture, and even table linens and bedcovers, especially from about 1820 to 1840. Textiles were stretched tightly to prevent their movement, then the various colors were tamped through cut-out designs to produce characteristically cheerful, repetitive motifs. A concentrated dye mixed with gum arabic could be used, but more commonly ground oils were mixed with a stencil mordant, which helped set the colors.
ProvenanceHistory of prior ownership unknown. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr., Beaver Falls Pa.