Quilt
Maker
Hannah Elizabeth Huylar
Periodcirca 1880
MediumSilk, silk embroidery floss, cotton backing, cotton batting
Dimensions67.5 × 53 in. (171.5 × 134.6 cm)
InscribedThe quilt includes an inked inscription on the back corner reading "Hannah Elizabeth Huylar."
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Margaret M. Cleveland, 2007
Object number2007.1
DescriptionA rectangular quilt comprised of alternating black silk and pale sky blue silk quilt blocks, square set in a five by seven block arrangement. Each block contains a detailed and naturalistic silk embroidered image of a recognizable flower, and includes sunflower, daisy, pansy, morning glory, lilies, peonies, daffodils, roses, and cattails. Stitches used include satin, chain, and split. The quilt blocks are edges with a wide black silk border embroidered with a meandering fern frond and daisy chain and edged with a rose pink cotton binding. The quilt is backed with a plain off-white cotton fabric and contains a thin, light cotton batting as filling.Curatorial RemarksThis bold and elegant black and pale blue silk quilt is a masterwork of naturalistic embroidery. Maker Hannah Elizabeth Huylar had, by the time this quilt was made, been embroidering and sewing for many years. It is unknown where she learned her needlework; it is possible that she attended a local day school or academy in which embroidery and needlework arts were taught to female students. In the last decades of the 19th century, the use of silks and embellishments such as embroidery were popular. Many women chose to create dazzling "crazy quilts," where uneven and varied scraps of silk, velvet, plush, and satin were combined with ribbon and embroidery. Hannah Huylar's choice of simple black and blue blocks, simply set, form the perfect background to highlight the 35 different floral images. Many of the blocks depict a clearly identifiable flower type such as a sunflower, rose, or daisy, while others combine a variety of flowers in a basket, spray, or wreath. A restrained fern and daisy vine serves as a simple border for the quilt.NotesHannah Elizabeth Snyder was born on 22 February 1825 in East Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, the daughter of William and Ellen Snyder. Her father was a successful farmer; Hannah was given the middle name "Elizabeth" after her father's mother, Elizabeth Zutphen. Hannah married Adam Huylar in 1848 in New York City. Adam Huylar had been married before, to Elizabeth Roberts, and brought his two young sons Adam and Edward to the marriage. In the 1850 and 1860 federal census records, Adam ls listed as a "sash maker" and a "sash & blind maker." By 1870, he was listed as a "painter," most likely meaning a house painter. Adam and Hannah moved to Keyport, Monmouth County, in 1852, and had six children together (William S., Beaulah, Abraham, Sarah, Charles, and Benjamin B.) The couple celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1898. As an adult, Hannah was a long-standing and highly active member of the Calvary Methodist Church, leading afternoon religious instruction classes for many years. Although it is unknown where Hannah learned her embroidery skills, her black and pale blue silk quilt, with its breathtakingly rendered naturalistic floral images, is clear evidence of a highly accomplished needlewoman. Hannah died in 1908 and was buried in the Green Grove Cemetery in Keyport.
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