Quilt No.964NGA - National Gallery of Australia

Owner: 
National Gallery of Australia
Location: 
ACT
Maker
Maker: 
Constance Bright & May Bright
Made in
AUSTRALIA TAS
Date: 
1881 - 1900
Description: 
"This is a crazy quilt consisting of nine panels of crazy patchwork joined together with bands of olive cotton sateen fabric. The fabrics of the patchwork are a rich variety of silk brocades, silk ribbons, fabrics with metallic threads and velvets. The embroidery is of a variety of silk threads, including chenille.
The quilt is padded with a layer of cotton wadding backed with a piece of tarlatan. The padding is only present beneath the patchwork panels and the bands that join them. There is no padding in the edge border of the quilt. The layers are quilted with machine sewing.
The quilt...
History: 

The quilt was made by 2 sisters, Miss Constance Bright and Miss May Bright in Tasmania about 1893. A member of the Bright family was employed by the Crosby Shipping Company in 1835. A descendant of the Crosby family, Miss Catherine Crosby, later owned the quilt and gave it to her niece, Miss Jean Brodie, in 1930. Miss Brodie, Queensland, donated the quilt to the National Gallery of Australia to mark the occasion of the Bicentenary in 1988.

Story: 

"Miss Constance Bright (United Kingdom c.1812-Australia died c.1915) and Miss May Bright (United Kingdom born c.1813-Australia died c.1915) made this quilt. They were sisters who came to Sandy Bay, Hobart, with their family as free settlers in 1835. The Bright family came from Skiffington Hall, Leicestershire, England and was employed in Hobart by the Crosby Shipping Company in 1835���." [NGA]

Related Quilts:

Fay Burgess
Hexagonal piece of patchwork made up of 9 rows of rosettes of hexagons in a wide variety of colours and patterns mainly in silks and velvets. It is incomplete. Backing papers are still in the outside rows and also basting threads. Hexagons are joined by fine whip stitching. It is unlined.
1370 x 1220mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Patchwork quilt made up of 100mm multi coloured squares in a variety of materials including cottons, synthetics, lurex, plain and printed. Each square has dacron padding and is then joined in strips and the strips joined. All hand sewn. The backing is blue synthetic whole cloth 60mm of which is returned to the front to form a border.
1500 x 1200mm
Brenda Bird
Suffolk Puff quilt made from a variety of scraps of dress materials including cottons and terylene. It is backed with white cotton sheeting and edged with a frill of white terylene. There is a matching pillow sham.
1740 x 1300 mm.
Christine Barnes
Cotton quilt with rosettes of hexagons. There is a centre hexagon with a surround of 6 hexagons in a contrasting pattern and then an outer row of 12 hexagons in a different pattern. Between each rosette is a single row of hexagons in a print common to the whole quilt. The materials are typical of the 60s period. There is a deep aqua border. It is machine quilted. The backing is cotton.
2515 x 1829mm
Tongarra Bicentennial Museum
Patchwork cot quilt top made from cotton hexagon patches, featuring a centre rosette with 7 rows of patches around it forming an elongated shape, with rosettes and patches randomly placed on the sides. Quilt has a border of triangles pieced to form squares. Cotton prints with over 50 different patterns. Colours are faded, with red and brown (may be faded green) and mostly pastels. Hand sewn using whip stitch. No padding or backing.
990 x 825mm
Kaniva District Historical Society
Patchwork quilt of hexagons in 'Grandmother's Flower Garden' pattern, consisting of a dark centre hexagon, a row of light patches, then a second row of dark patches in the same colour as the centre. Each group of patches or 'flower' is joined by white paths. Colours are predominantly red, blue, brown and pale or faded colours. Some fading; some dark colour fabrics have deteriorated. Backing. Hand sewn. Border of quilt and backing sewn edge to edge.
2236 x 1829mm