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hand pieced silk velvet embroidered silk brocade
Not currently on view
Gift of Fleur and Charles Bresler
Regular patchwork quilts combine pieces of fabric into an organized and predetermined pattern, but crazy quilts use irregular pieces (often leftover from furnishing textiles and clothing) to form haphazard-looking and asymmetrical designs. This work was made during the peak of the crazy-quilt popularity, 1880-1920. The fabric scraps were laid out onto a plain ground, then hand-embroidered with heavily-embellished stitches. In comparison to other quilts in this exhibition, this crazy quilt incorporates differently-textured pieces of fabric and more elaborate embroidery as the careful geometric design is much less important. Although most quilts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were thought to maintain a family’s morality by filling the home with inherently beautiful objects, this well-made crazy quilt is much more than just a utilitarian object. Several fabric scraps are embellished with large, distinctive trumpet lilies. These are robust, fragrant cultivars that are prized in the garden for their graceful stature and wonderful variety. (Allure of Flowers) At first glance, crazy quilts appear chaotic and lacking a well executed plan. On closer examination, it becomes clear that they are quite the opposite. This Victorian Crazy Quilt uses the diamond as its foundation block. Each diamond block was covered with a dozen or so pieces, and each block was then embellished with fancy stitches to cover the seam lines and depict pictorial images in the open spaces. Fans, interlocking circles, owls, butterflies, trumpet lilies, and ducks are among the motifs typically used in crazy quilts. (Bresler Exhibition)
Accession Number: 2001.38.11
Measurements:
Copyright Information:
Public Domain
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