Thirteen-patch block quilt with Japanesque backing fabric

Unknown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The top of this large cotton quilt is made up of with square blocks, each set on point to form diamonds. Each block is composed of thirteen small squares of different printed colored cottons, surrounded by triangles of white fabric to make up the diamond. In between the blocks, there is sashing of dark blue cotton printed with a small white floral pattern. At the center of the quilt, there is one diamond that is decorated with an eight-pointed star. The quilt’s edges are bound with a red patterned cotton. Of particular interest is the quilt’s backing fabric, which is a bold large-scale Japanesque pattern of "cheater cloth" (or printed imitation patchwork,) that shows repeating scenes of kimono-wearing Japanese ladies in exotic landscapes, as well as bird, butterfly and fan decorations. American cotton printing was at its zenith of design and quality of printing in the 1880s. Since rolls of this type of fabric have long since been used up, the place to find long lengths of extant examples is in quilts, either wholecloth quilts or quilt backing fabrics. Charming and imaginative fabric like the one backing this quilt give some idea of the influence of Aesthetic Movement design on even the least expensive of factory-produced textiles, and the general public’s seeming love for this exotic style.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art