Quilt

Object Name:

Quilt

Object ID:

1957.065.02.36 a

Date:

1780-1830

Description:

Quilt. Whole-cloth; one side of pink calendered plain-woven worsted (probably known as "durant" in its period), and the other side of pink calendered twill-woven worsted ("shalloon"), which is pieced out with the durant along one side. Both sides show some fading, so it appears that the quilt was intended to be double-sided. The quilt has deep (~23" x 23", but they are not even) cut-out corners with a square cut into each inside corner to accommodate the bed posts; two sets of pink wool twill tape ties are attached at the cut-outs. These cut-outs are a later alteration by Katherine Prentis Murphy. (See 1957.065.02.36c.) The quilted design consists of undulating stylized floral and leafy vines, with a large flower motif in the center. Border design is an undulating running feather, with pyramids of scallops under the upwards curve of the vine, along the edge. Very thin white wool batting. The quilting is done in golden yellow silk (possibly linen) thread at 11 to 12 stitches per inch. Knife edge finish.

Material:

Textile
Wool
Cotton

Dimensions:

W-96 L-94 inches

Provenance:

Part of the Prentis Collection, exhibited in the "bedroom" of the NHHS Prentis rooms. Listed as "English, late 17th C." on Prentis Collection inventory.
The Prentis Collection -- given by Katherine Prentis Murphy and her brother Edmund Astley Prentis, in memory of Katherine's husband, David Edward Murphy -- formed the contents of a suite of early New England "period rooms," meant to represent the home of a prosperous New England merchant c. 1730. The rooms were exhibited at the New Hampshire Historical Society (30 Park St.), 1957-1983.

Credit Line:

Gift of Katharine Prentis Murphy and Edmund Astley Prentis Jr., in Memory of David Edward Murphy

People:

Murphy, Katharine Prentis (1882-1967), Prentis, Edmund Astley, Jr. (1883-1967), Murphy, David E. (1859-1919)

Subjects:

Needlework, Quilting, Sewing, Quilts