Quilt
- Title:
- APOTHEOSIS OF B FRANKLIN & G WASHINGTON
- Object Name:
- Quilt
- Object ID:
- 1990.004.02
- Creator:
- Green, Valentine (1739-1813) -- Engraver; Trumbull, John (1756-1843) -- Artist
- Place of Origin:
- Manchester, England
- Date:
- 1780-1790
- Description:
- Quilt. Wholecloth bedcover or blanket. Originally from the house of Dorothy Hyde, Gilmanton Iron Works, NH. Wholecloth tribute toile; linen warp, cotton weft copper plate monochrome printed red on white. Pattern titled "American Independence" or "Apotheosis of Benjamin Franklin & George Washington", after mezzotint by Valentine Green (1739-1813) and portrait by John Trumbull (1756-1843), printed with 36" repeat. Scene: George Washington standing, one leg bent in a chariot drawn by two leopards, woman in classical dress and feathered headdress seated behind him, soldiers behind chariot under American and French flags; there are two heralds (only one identifiable, fabric cut off) dressed in American Indian inspired clothing playing trumpets; first banner striped, second "Don't Tread on Me". Second part of the scene depicts Benjamin Franklin walking, wearing a waistcoat, breeches, a banyan, and a fur cap (garments worn exclusively in the privacy of the home); in his right hand he holds one end of a scroll titled "Where liberty dwells, there is my country" above his head, the other end in the left hand of the Goddess Liberty. The couple being led by Athena in a cloud holding a 13-star shield toward a stairway leading to "The Temple of Fame". Two cherubs holding a shield with a map of the United States stand on the bottom steps; the Goddess Fama or Pheme plays a trumpet while hovering in a cloud at the entrance of the Temple. A beaver watching a heron eat is depicted on the top right of the scene. Completely handstitched. Pieced construction; front of eight rectangular toile fragments (patterns not matched), backing of four white cotton panels, two vertical (right and left), two 7" long horizontal strips (top and bottom). Quilted with a Sashiko (Japanese embroidery) inspired 4"x 6" shell or wave pattern in white cotton thread. Edges finished with the toile side pressed to the back 0.5" and whipstitched to the backing.
- Material:
- Textile
Linen
Cotton - Dimensions:
- W-56 L-76 inches
- Provenance:
- From house of Dorothy Hyde, Gilmanton Iron Works, NH. Purchased by Grace Casey c. 1955.
- Credit Line:
- New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, in Memory of Katherine Pike Foster, through a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Roger F. Woodman
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