Description:
Wholecloth-type dark blue and white, resist-printed cotton quilt made of pieced, vertical strips with a elaborate pattern of two vertical, scrolling, thick white branches encircled with flowers and leaves against an overall design of scrolling, thin, flowering branches; cotton twill tape binding on three side, and front-to-back binding on the top edge; and four-piece, dark tan, plain-weave cotton backing with some shattering; four-piece, dark-tan cotton backing; and cotton batting. The quilting was done in a grid pattern, 6 quilting stitches per inch. According to the original 1957 bill from Arditti & Mayorca of London, this is "a fine large quilted French Antique resist spread in white and blue. Early 18th century - circa 1730." The form of the design of trailing exotic flowers is similar to a printed cotton quilt in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (45.145), which is made of an English printed cotton probably copied from the designs of Jean Pillement (1728-1808) who published books of ornaments in what at the time was considered to be "the Chinese manner" used by textile printers, painters, and decorators. Although French, Pillement spent most of his working time in London where many of his designs were first published. The indigo-resist pattern (known in the 18th century as paste work) was made by applying wax, starch, or (later) a chemical paste in the desired pattern to white fabric. When the fabric was dipped into the indigo bath, the paste "resisted" the dye, leaving the "waxed" fabric white. Then the wax was reapplied within each design to make multiple shades of blue; when the cloth dipped again, those areas not covered by the wax became an even deeper blue.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Cotton Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.150 |
