Chintz Appliqué Quilt
Not on view
This coverlet was probably custom-made to fit a child’s bed, with cutouts at its base to accommodate bedposts. The anonymous maker was almost certainly a woman creating this for the use of her own family or friends. At first glance, this appears to be a single printed cotton coverlet, but instead it is a unique, hand-assembled composite of carefully cut-out motifs from at least two printed chintzes, neatly stitched upon the plain white cotton ground. The gently symmetrical arrangement inventively combines twig-like shapes created to the seamstress’s own design with floral, foliage and avian motifs carefully cut from the chintzes’ printed designs. This preservation and reuse of scraps and fragments of older fabrics embodies not only thrift, but also the value assigned such textiles- as mementoes, much-loved fabrics, even secular relics of family significance. Thus repurposed, the chintzes have been transformed into a new and truly unique art work.
