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2025.609.45, Quilt
Quilt, Pieced Circles Pattern
2025.609.45, Quilt

Quilt, Pieced Circles Pattern

Date1860s
OriginAmerica, Mississippi
MediumCotton
Dimensions75 x 82 inches with cutout
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 number2025.609.45
DescriptionIrregular shaped quilt of multicolor printed cottons using pie-shaped wedges pieced together and joined at the tips to form an overall design of lighter color printed four-part circles against darker prints. The rectangular quilt has a large piece removed from one corner with raw edges at the cuts. Quilted by hand with about three running stitches per inch through thick cotton batting in repeated fans spaced about one inch apart. Blue printed cotton backing is brought to the front and stitched to form the edge finish. The quilt is constructed mostly by hand stitching with some machine stitching.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.

This quilt has an unidentified maker. It was part of the belongings of Amanda Caroline Guice (1844-1930), who married A.K. "Kell" Shaifer in November 1865. However, the stitches don't match Amanda's work on other extant quilts. Guice was part of a robust quilting community in Port Gibson, MS. Local diarist Spooner Forbes wrote in January 1873, "Mrs. Shaifer [referring to Amanda] and the Andrews and Wheeless girls here quilting." Perhaps this "Stove Eye" quilt was made by a local quilter and given to Guice as a gift?Inscription(s)Tag with quilt reads “This quilt has been documented by the Quilt Search Project of the Mississippi Quilt Association 1995-1997.”ProvenanceDates unknown, probably 1860s, unidentified maker, (Claiborne County, MS); dates unknown, Amanda Guice (Mrs. Abram K. “Kell”) Shaifer [1844-1930] (Claiborne County, MS); dates unknown, descended in the family to great-granddaughter Elizabeth Shaifer (Mrs. Al) Hollingsworth [1933-2016] (Claiborne County, MS); dates unknown, Al Hollingsworth (Claiborne County, MS); 2025, given to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)