Images(3)

Quilt, Stuffed Work

Date1690-1720

OriginEurope; owned in America, Pennsylvania or Virginia

MediumSilk face; cotton backing; cotton batting; silk binding; silk quilting stitches (identification of fibers by microscope)

DimensionsOH: 96" x OW: 69 1/2"

Credit LineGift of Jack Johnson

Object number2023-125

DescriptionThis is a rectangular quilt of red silk, stuffed with cotton and quilted with yellow silk backstitches, 12-14 stitches per inch. At the center is a rectangle with an armorial design inside an oval. There are two men in coats of ca. 1700 style inside spaces on either side of the center rectangle. A larger oval with scrolling floral vines and nudes surrounds the center rectangle. The inner corners have running deer, boars, hunt scene, musicians, amorous couples, and winged putti. The inner border outlined in cables has abstract floral vines. A wide outer border consists of putti and vegetation. There is a narrow outermost border with cable outline and running vine filling. The quilt is finished with the front silk fabric turned to the back and with sections of red binding. Metal rings are at the top of the quilt.
Label TextThis silk quilt is a rare survival of a very early, ornate bedcover that was used in colonial America. The stuffed-work technique, motifs, and materials suggest that it was imported from Europe.
ProvenancePer donor, the quilt descended through the family of Jack Erwin Page Johnson, either Page family of Rosewell, Virginia, or Wilson family of Philadelphia. It hung in the family home until the 1920s.