Quilt, Pieced Amish Circles

Date1930-1950

MediumCotton

Dimensions76 X 90 (193.2 X 228.5 cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase through the generosity of an Anonymous Donor

Object number2016.609.4

DescriptionThis is a rectangular cotton quilt pieced from solid black, purple, blue, and green cottons in a pattern of circles with eight pie-like sections, half circles, and quarter circles within a frame of double borders. The circles are of two different sizes and number twenty larger circles, twelve smaller circles, fourteen small half circles, and four small quarter circles. The circles are set against background patches that change colors, giving an asymmetrical ground effect. The quilting stitches, worked in white cotton at 5 to 8 per inch, trace the contours of each circle, with a diamond grid between the circles. The narrow inner border features repeated C shapes, and the outer border is quilted with fiddlehead ferns.

Label TextArt of the Quilter:
Amish and Mennonite women rarely signed their quilts. However, their work frequently features geometric piecing and detailed stitched designs, inspired by earlier wholecloth quilts and Welsh pieced patterns.

This quilt was likely made by an Amish woman living in Ohio in the early 20th century. The distinct circles resemble surviving Amish quilts from Ohio and Indiana, which tend to feature curved piecing. While the quilt includes fern shaped quilting stitches on the border, emphasis is placed on the pieced motifs- another Ohio Amish feature. The use of cotton instead of wool and the contrasting shades of blue and purple provide further evidence of an Amish maker from Ohio.