Antebellum Quilts

A new show at the Renwick Gallery features a rare repository of textile history

  • By Diane M. Bolz
  • Smithsonian magazine, November 1996

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    In the mid-18th century, "35 pieces of chintz" from John Isles of Bristol were dispatched to John Savage & Co. in South Carolina aboard the sloop Rebecca. These lengths of fine glazed and printed cotton likely found their way into quilts fashioned for the beds of prosperous households. Before a competitive textile industry developed in the United States in the 1840s, costly printed fabrics imported from Britain and France dominated the upscale American market. Affluent quilt-makers sought the finest of these calicoes and chintzes to sew into lavish bedcovers. With their opulent colors and elaborate designs, these quilts preserve a legacy of stylish fabrics and document an important era in textile printing and quilt-making.

    An arresting array of these seldom-used "best," or heirloom, quilts is currently on display at the National Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery. "Calico and Chintz: Antique Quilts from the Collection of Patricia S. Smith," on view through January 12, 1997, features rare and little-known American quilts dating from about 1790 to 1845. In some of these quilts, patterns of similar color combinations are uniformly repeated. In others, the patterns are more random, with lush, fragmentary images of flowers, birds and trees.

    "When blocks of multicolored chintzes with large floral motifs are juxtaposed with patches of densely patterned, polychrome calicoes, the effect can be spectacular, almost kaleidoscopic," says the show's curator, Jeremy Adamson. "Early American quilt-makers created works of visual power and splendor that showcase the beauty of these fabrics, bequeathing to us a treasure trove of textile history."

    Diane M. Bolz

    In the mid-18th century, "35 pieces of chintz" from John Isles of Bristol were dispatched to John Savage & Co. in South Carolina aboard the sloop Rebecca. These lengths of fine glazed and printed cotton likely found their way into quilts fashioned for the beds of prosperous households. Before a competitive textile industry developed in the United States in the 1840s, costly printed fabrics imported from Britain and France dominated the upscale American market. Affluent quilt-makers sought the finest of these calicoes and chintzes to sew into lavish bedcovers. With their opulent colors and elaborate designs, these quilts preserve a legacy of stylish fabrics and document an important era in textile printing and quilt-making.

    An arresting array of these seldom-used "best," or heirloom, quilts is currently on display at the National Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery. "Calico and Chintz: Antique Quilts from the Collection of Patricia S. Smith," on view through January 12, 1997, features rare and little-known American quilts dating from about 1790 to 1845. In some of these quilts, patterns of similar color combinations are uniformly repeated. In others, the patterns are more random, with lush, fragmentary images of flowers, birds and trees.

    "When blocks of multicolored chintzes with large floral motifs are juxtaposed with patches of densely patterned, polychrome calicoes, the effect can be spectacular, almost kaleidoscopic," says the show's curator, Jeremy Adamson. "Early American quilt-makers created works of visual power and splendor that showcase the beauty of these fabrics, bequeathing to us a treasure trove of textile history."

    Diane M. Bolz

     
    Comments

    this sounds like a wonderfull display of early americana. is there a way to link to the display? i would love to put it on my history page at Quilting an Crafting.com (http://quiltingancrafting.com/)

    Posted by Steven W. Hall on May 24,2008 | 12:48 PM

    I have inherited a beautiful red and white Irish Chain quilt that is signed and dated, 1914. The body of it is in good, solid condition although the red has faded a little and there are some two brown stains about the size of a nickel in the white, which is amazingly white. The binding, however, is worn through and quite frayed. I'm hoping that someone can guide me in how to clean it and advise whether I should or shouldn't put on a new binding. I'm quite sure that is hasn't been washed in 50 years. Perhaps if this isn't the appropriate sight for these questions, you could guide me on. Thank you for your time. Sharon

    Posted by Sharon Golm on June 26,2008 | 08:33 PM

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