Quilt, Pieced "Corn and Beans"
Date1880-1900
Maker
Amanda Caroline Guice Shaifer
American, 1843 - 1930
MediumCotton
Dimensions85 inches H X 82 1/2 inches W
Credit LineGift of The Children of Elizabeth Shaifer Hollingsworth - Allison Shaifer Hollingsworth Moxey, Ann Davidson Hollingsworth Weeden and Christopher Alton Hollingsworth, and The Children of Sanfrid Davidson Shaifer - Mary Laura Shaifer Bell, Jodie Stovall Shaifer Huddleston and Sanfrid Davidson Shaifer, Jr.
Object number2025.609.4
DescriptionRectangular quilt pieced from large and small triangles in diagonal arrangement worked from dark-ground small-scale prints, stripes, and solids with indigo blue, tans, and off-white predominating. The pieced center is bordered on three sides by 8 to 9-inch wide blue-ground print with a narrower border on the fourth side. Matching blue-ground print forms backing that is brought to front and stitched to form edge finish. Quilting at 3 to 4 stitches per inch in all-over fans pattern.Label TextThis quilt is part of a large donation of quilts by the Shaifer family of Claiborne County, MS. These 46 quilts were made by women from four successive generations of the family, dating from the mid-1800s to the 1980s. Amanda Caroline Guice (1844-1930) worked this quilt at the Shaifer home, Holly Hill, in Port Gibson, MS. The quilt design, "Corn and Beans", makes a (likely unintentional) reference to the Shaifer's farm, where they grew potatoes, pumpkins, beans, pomegranates, peaches, and more. Based on her extant quilts, Guice preferred to make pieced quilts, as seen here.Provenance1880-1900, quiltmaker Amanda Guice (Mrs. Abram) Shaifer [1844-1930] (Claiborne County, MS); dates unknown, descended in family to Elizabeth Shaifer (Mrs. Al) Hollingsworth [1933-2016] (Claiborne County, MS); 2025, gift of Shaifer children through Mr. Al Hollingsworth to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
