Description:
Wholecloth quilt remade from an earlier petticoat. The quilt relates to a small group of extant wholecloth silk examples whose raised design is primarily achieved through the insertion of loosely twisted (in this case, 8-ply) cotton cording from the back. These quilts, which often depict scenes of ships on the sea, as well as people, are thought to have been made in southern Europe in imitation of (or inspired by) silk quilts from India made for the export market. Historic Deerfield's example contains no ships or figures, however. The quilt's center seam designates where two halves of the original petticoat were joined together to form the bed covering, the hem on either outer edge. The quilt/petticoat was made from different widths of the blue satin-weave silk, the widest of which is 23.75" a fact which may suggest the silk is Chinese in origin. The raised design is formed primarily with 8-ply loosely spun cotton cord that was probably inserted into the quilt from the open-weave backing fabric. Additional elements of the quilted design are formed by the use of white cotton batting. The quilt is edged all around with matching plain-weave silk. The wide hem was decorated with a dense and vertical floral design, and the uppermost part priamrily a trellis or diamond pattern. The hem is packed with ogee and diamond shapes. The pettiocat was likely produced in India for the Portuguese market; the quilt perhaps in Portugal. There are ink inscriptions written on the backing: "Julia of / Josephina Roselia Nunes Serra / Josia de Olivereria Serra" and "Irene Tulmira Nunes Serra / R. de S. Joan de Peaca 108 / Nascia - 16 November 1902 / Tal - 13 de Decembre 1922."
Label Text:
This quilt began its life as a petticoat. It was made to imitate better-known Indian quilted textiles exported to Europe. The raised design is achieved largely through the insertion of eight-ply, loosely twisted cotton cording through the open weave backing fabric. When the petticoat was made into a quilt, the decorative hem was aligned on two of the longer sides. An ink inscription written on the reverse of the quilt suggests a history of ownership to one or more Portuguese families before entering the museum's collection in 1950.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.098A |
