Quilt No.756PHM - Powerhouse Museum

1960 x 1950mm
The quilt was a gift of the Royal Australian Historical Society in 1983. No earlier provenance information available. The quilt is used for research and exhibition purposes only.
"Although the identity of the maker of the quilt is unknown, we can presume much about her (or him) from the choice of materials and the design. Because of the apparent reuse of the kind of damask fabrics used to make table cloths and napkins for the patches and the border, we can presume the maker was concerned to practice economy. From the clarity and exhuberance of the design, we can also reconstruct a maker who had an excellent design sense. Because the bold combination of red and white was particularly popular in Ireland in the 1800s, we may even suppose that the maker was Irish." [PHM]
Related Quilts:
The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery.
As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm
2240 x 885mm
1830 x 1480mm
1580 x 1200mm