Images(2)

Quilt

PeriodCirca 1850

Place MadeYonkers, New York, U.S.A.

MediumGlazed cotton chintz, variety of woven and printed cotton calicos

Dimensions11.5 × 10.75 in. (29.2 × 27.3 cm)

ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets

Credit LineGift of Mia C. Cooke, 1975

Object number1975.13.4

DescriptionA small doll-sized quilt, with a front comprised of four four-patch blocks set on point with alternating blocks of pale yellow, tan, and white narrow plaid. Three of the four-patch blocks include a variety of light pink prints with darker brown prints, with a fourth four-patch block of light brown micro-check and darker brown/white/black "squiggle" overall pattern. Some of the yellow plaid alternate blocks have been pieced with identical fabrics. A wide border sash is set of pale blue and white striping with small pink corner blocks. A narrow edging runs along all four sides and appears to be the same fabric as the alternate plaid blocks. The backing consists of two pieces of a very early glazed cotton chintz in a red/pink floral bunch on a dark brown ground. The panel is quilted with outline stitches following the on-point blocks.
Curatorial RemarksMost women, regardless of economic class or status, had a bag, box, or even trunk filled with lengths of fabrics, remnants, and scraps of silks, cottons, linens, and other materials. Some women inherited their own mothers' or female relatives' fabric stashes, incorporating them into their projects. It is not unusual to see a quilt made of fabrics dateable from the late 18th and early 19th century to the 1890s and into the early decades of the 20th century. This quilt includes a very early backing made from two pieces of a glazed chintz fabric. The somewhat crude nature and simple color palette indicate that this fabric is quite early, perhaps even from the 1770s or 1780s. The small scraps of fabric incorporated into the four "four-patch" blocks set on point on the front of the quilt, as well as the other fabrics in the design, seem to date from the 1840s and very early 1850s. Small quilts like these are fascinating glimpses into a woman's earliest sewing attempts, often guided by her mother.NotesThis doll's quilt is attributed to Maria Burritt Cowdrey Cooke. Born in 1844 in Yonkers, New York Maria was the daughter of Peter Anderson Cowdry (1803-1852) and Maria Burritt (1808-1853). Both her parents were from Connecticut, and moved to Yonkers around the time of their marriage. Maria was quite young when her parents died - only eight when her father died, nine when she lost her mother. Little girls often learned their sewing and quilting skills from a very young age, practicing on simple four- or nine-patch blocks to set a straight seam and finish smaller projects before tackling larger ones. Maria Cowdrey married Dr. Henry Gansevoort Cooke in 1876. The couple had at least five children, as there is some discrepancy between two girls (Mia and Maria) who may in fact be the same person. The quilt was donated by this daughter, noted as Mia C. Cooke, in the 1960s.

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