"More Beautiful Than Any Other": Quilts from the OSV Collection, 1790-1850
Conspicuous Consumption
Bed quilt\'s were rare in the 17th and 18th centuries in New England. The earliest quilts were wholecloth wool or silk, a popular English style. Wholecloth quilts had tops composed of large pieces of cloth stitched together to give the illusion of one piece of cloth. Women usually purchased an imported fabric for the quilt top but used a hand-spun and woven cloth, dyed with local, inexpensive dyestuffs, for the backing. Displaying these quilts demonstrated the owner\'s wealth and taste. Quilts adorned beds in the best room of the house, a room that was used for dining and entertaining as well as sleeping. Elaborate quilting designs covered the entire surface of the quilt and incorporated popular motifs such as feathers, vines, flowers and scrolls. | |
| Wholecloth Wool Quilt, 1793 Elizabeth Mather\' (1771-1811), Sandisfield, Massachusetts. Wool. L: 82"; W:82". |
 | Wholecloth Silk Cradle Quilt, circa 1790-1820 Unidentified maker, probably New England. Silk, wool. L: ; W: . |
 | Grain Painted Cradle, early 19th century Possibly New England. OSV 5.13.40 |
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