Purse

United States

20th century

  • Titles Purse (Descriptive)
  • Medium textile
  • Dimensions Overall: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm) Overall1: 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of Mrs. Arthur A. Allen in memory of Sara Gaston Burns, 1972.45
  • Work Type purse
  • Classification Costume

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Large bedcovering, or quilt top, of English cotton chintzes and stripes, and copperplate printed fabrics, with dozens of individual leaves, flowers and birds fastened with buttonhole stitches to a white ground in an applique method known as "broderie perse," the main design forms the Tree of Life pattern with an oversized parrot perched on a limb at the top of the tree, the trunk springs from a bowl containing two ovals of copperplate-printed fabric with the inscription on one reading, "Whittingdon at Holloway hearing bowbells ring," and "Turn down Whittingdon, Lord Mayor of Great London," and on the other, "Whittingdon presents his cat a V--," and "Whittingdon brought Poor Puss and delivered her to the captain with tears in his eyes," embroidered grape clusters are paired with long-beaked birds with appliqued heads and wings, four additional birds fly in the background, each corner of the central medallion is decorated with a different composition of flowers and leaves, the border appliqued of flowers and leaves between one single striped and one double striped border, the outermost border in reverse applique with scrolls, leaves and flowers, and finished with a final frame of four stripes.
Sunburst quilt
Checkerboards quilt?, from Caplewood/Riverside Drive estate, white, orange, red and green with cheddar binding
When Robert T. Cargo went to Ms. Burrell's house she was in the midst of cooking deer meat for her breakfast, 8am, October 10, 1991.