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Whole Cloth Quilt
Whole Cloth Quilt
Whole Cloth Quilt

Whole Cloth Quilt

PeriodCirca 1780-1790
Place MadePossibly New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumGlazed wool, linen, wool batting
Dimensions89 × 76 in. (226.1 × 193 cm)
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Mary C. Parrish, 1978
Object number1978.8
DescriptionA whole cloth quilt in a bright rose pink glazed wool, pieced in three lengths, with a backing of rough natural linen enclosing a relatively low loft wool batting. The entire quilt is sewn with medium fine stitches in a floral and diagonal running linear patterns. The quilt has been at some point in its history roughly cut in half width wise, with both edges left unfinished and irregular.
Curatorial RemarksWhole cloth quilts were highly popular in the 18th century. While the origins of whole cloth quilts appear to come from England, colonial American women produced warm, attractive bed coverings in large numbers. Based on surviving examples in museums and private collections, the most popular colors appear to have been various shades of blue/indigo, bright scarlet red, and rose pink. Printed cottons were still relatively expensive fabrics, imported from Great Britain, and do not appear in pre-Revolutionary American quilts very often. Instead, whole cloth quilts relied on accessible fabrics such as wool (camblet, worsted, and other types) with linen backing and wool batting. The quilting patterns used across the single color fabric is what gave these quilts their beauty. Floral and foliate swirls, diagonal striping, and other motifs added texture and visual impact. The Association has another whole cloth quilt in its collection, a very large, rough dark brown quilt made in Monmouth County (see accession 1994.502).NotesThe quilt entered the collection in two pieces. The Association has at least two quilts that were divided by an elderly mother for her adult daughters, rebound and nicely finished, to serve as cherished family mementos. It is baffling why this exquisite bright pink glazed wool worsted quilt was hacked in half in such a crude, uneven manner. The cut mark does not really divide the quilt in half evenly, either. Instead, one portion is noticeably smaller than the other portion. The donor did not provide any background information as to the quilt's origin or why it was cut.
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