Quilt, Sunburst center with signature pieced blocks
Date1857
MediumCottons
Dimensions91 inches H X 83 inches W
Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA
Object number2024.609.8
DescriptionRectangular pieced quilt of multicolored printed cottons in plaids, stripes, small-scale florals, and dots. The center consists of a large "Sunburst" design of diamond-shaped pieces of printed cottons appliqued to a ground of brown on white printed cotton consisting of three-leaf clover-like leaves against a striped background. Surrounding the center block are 40 smaller squares pieced in a block pattern of squares on point, sometimes referred to as "Grandmother's Pride." The sashings consist of the brown on white print that matches the field around the sunburst. Some of the white blocks at the center of the square blocks are signed and dated, although the ink has caused most to damage the textile, leaving holes in the ground. The two legible signatures read "Josephine Watkins / 1857" and "Sue A Price / 1857." One block center has an appliqued red heart. The quilting is worked through batting and backing with 4 to 5 running stitches per inch in diagonal parallel lines ranging from 3/4 to one inches apart, turning to create large chevrons. The quilt edges are finished with narrow bindings in several different prints. The backing is printed cotton in a small-scale design of intersecting circles and oval dots centered with tiny diamonds in brown and faded red.Later repairs to the backing done by covering sections with sheer silk. The center sunburst block appears to be finer stitching, suggesting a different hand or earlier date.Label TextThis pieced quilt was apparently a joint project of neighbors living in Cumberland County, Virginia. Josephine Watkins and Sue Price, two of the young women who signed the blocks in 1857, can be traced through federal census records. They lived with their families on neighboring farms in Cumberland County, and were about nineteen years old when they signed their quilt blocks. The bold center Sunburst design appears to of finer piecing and different textiles than the surrounding blocks, suggesting that different hands worked on the center or that it was made somewhat earlier.Mark(s)Tag fastened to reverse reads "The Virginia Quilt Project 4-29-89 Registration # R2-20."ProvenanceDates unknown, family and descendents of Josephine Watkins, Sue Price, or one of the other makers; before 1991, Elizabeth Hill; 1991, gift to the Valentine Museum, (Richmond, VA); 2024, gift to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
1860-1900
1820-1840
