Artwork Details
Artist
Unknown
Nationality
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
88-1/4 x 87 in.
Mark Description
Embroidered, 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 Number
Credit Line
Orville A. and Elma D. Wilkinson Fund
Copyright
Collection
Color Palette
Provenance
(Cora Ginsberg, Inc. Tarrytown, New York); purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1975.
Gallery Labels
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 History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
January 18, 1992 - March 28, 1992
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
December 5, 1987 - January 16, 1988
Indianapolis Museum of Art
September 7, 1983 - October 23, 1983
Indianapolis Museum of Art
November 22, 1981 - February 28, 1982
Indianapolis Museum of Art
September 2, 1980 - October 5, 1980
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Columbus
December 9, 1977 - January 29, 1978
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