Artwork Details
Unknown
88-1/4 x 87 in.
Mark DescriptionEmbroidered, banner in central medallion: E. PLURIBUS UNUM Embroidered, beneath banner in central medallion: 18 53 Embroidered, one state name on each star, clockwise from top center: Massachusetts / N Hampshire / N Jersey / S Carolina / Georgia / Connecticut / N York / Delaware / R Island / Maryland / N Carolina / Pennsylvania / Virginia
Accession NumberOrville A. and Elma D. Wilkinson Fund
Copyright(Cora Ginsberg, Inc. Tarrytown, New York); purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1975.
Patriotic themes and motifs have been incorporated into quilt designs since the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. Union quilts, featuring the American eagle, were popular from the late 1780s until the 1840s and again during the Civil War. The design of this impressive quilt, dated 1853, was influenced by early nineteenth-century patriotic quilts and reflects the growing political tensions in antebellum America.
The quilt depicts a stylized central eagle, surrounded by a wreath of thirteen stars. From the eagle’s beak floats a streamer with the Latin mottom E Plubribus Unum, which means “one out of many”.
The eagle, the stars and the floral borders are appliquéd. The center of each pieced star is embroidered with the name of one of the thirteen original states: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Discovering American Quilts from the Collection of the IMA
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
January 18, 1992 - March 28, 1992
Selections from "The Folk Tradition"
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
December 5, 1987 - January 16, 1988
Fabrics in Celebration - From the Collection
Indianapolis Museum of Art
September 7, 1983 - October 23, 1983
Quilts and Coverlets from the IMA Collection
Indianapolis Museum of Art
November 22, 1981 - February 28, 1982
Key Acquisitions Since 1970 Part I: Oriental, Ethnographic, Decorative Arts & Textiles
Indianapolis Museum of Art
September 2, 1980 - October 5, 1980
A Stitch for all Seasons: Quilts from the Museum Collection
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
December 9, 1977 - January 29, 1978
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