Newsletter Signup

Join our email list to receive news of our latest activities and featured items!

Email Address:
 
Applique Quilts
ANTIQUE QUILTS > 19th CENTURY QUILTS > Applique Quilts > TRAPUNTO COXCOMB AND CURRANTS APPLIQUE ANTIQUE QUILT

 

TRAPUNTO COXCOMB AND CURRANTS APPLIQUE ANTIQUE QUILT

TRAPUNTO COXCOMB AND CURRANTS APPLIQUE ANTIQUE QUILT
   

 



Probably of Ohio origin is this pretty and dynamic floral applique accented with berries. That wonderful border with elongated vines bursting from a tiny pot has been discovered to have several related examples all identified to Ohio. The preferred name for the thistle like motif around a star center accented with stems of berries is Coxcomb and Currants, and several versions of this distinctive motif have been discovered recently. This suggests that this design was either the work of one person shared with family, or the output of a community of quilters who chose this particular pattern. Look closely and you will notice that only some of the wreaths quilted in the field have been stuffed in the trapunto fashion; did the maker get tired, or just give up?! The whole quilt communicates great questions for an historian for which we have only potential answers now. The vine and leaves have oxidized to a pleasing cocoa color over time. This example is choice for the period because it is bordered around all four sides, rather than leaving one side blank, making it beautiful to hang for display

c 1880s