Collection Highlights
Study for "Carmen Jones"
1944
2001.104
Watercolor and graphite on paper
Support the New-York Historical Society
Help us present groundbreaking exhibitions and develop educational programs about our nation's history for more than 200,000 schoolchildren annually.
Museum Collections
Luce Center
Quilt top (unfinished)
Object name
Quilt top (unfinished)
Date
ca. 1790-1810
Medium
Vegetable dyed printed cotton, paper
Dimensions
Overall: 28 x 28 x 1/4 in. ( 71.1 x 71.1 x 0.6 cm )
Description
Whole pieced unfinshed quilt top of an all-over "honey-comb" patchwork design surrounding a "compass" or "wheel" central medallion motif within a hexagonal block, consisting of hexagonal, triangular, and diamond-shaped pieces; each piece lined with paper, held together by whip-stitching around the perimeter of each hexagon and basted onto hexagonal "honeycomb" paper patterns. Fabrics appear to all be vegetable-dyed two and three color roller-printed cottons made in England in the early nineteenth century.
Credit Line
Gift of Isabella Vach
Object Number
1941.1197
Gallery Label
Honeycomb quilts, made up of hundreds of small hexagonal pieces organized around a central wheel, were popular in England and caught on in America in the 1830s. This quilt top was made according to the time-consuming method described in Godey's Lady's Book in 1835, in which each tiny hexagon patch was formed over a template of stiff paper in the same shape. This quilt's paper templates, cut from old letters, bills, and copybook pages, are visible beneath each hexagon of the unfinished top.
According to the donor, this quilt top was made by her great-grandmother, Maria Cooper Pillow (b. 1762) of Canterbury, England. Her granddaughter, Eliza Pilcher, married John Vach
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.