Unknown pattern, fine old fabric, squares and blocks

Quilt

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

About 1870

  • Titles Quilt (Descriptive)
  • Medium textiles
  • Credit Line Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of Helen and Robert Cargo, AFI.109.2009
  • Object Name quilt
  • Classification Quilts

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Three-footed molar-shaped vessel with speckled glaze graduating in color from a light tan on the body of the vessel to a darker brown at the rim.
Star Square quilt
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.
Smoothing Iron/Star and Hexagon quilt