Images(5)

Quilt, Pieced Mariner's Compass

Date1845-1855

Attributed to Mary Wright Williams

OriginAmerica, New York, New York City

MediumCotton

DimensionsOW: 95" x OH: 95" (241 x 241 cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2008.609.3

DescriptionThis is a square quilt of printed, striped, plaid, and plain cottons. It consists of sixteen blocks, about 18 ½" square, each with a 32-point compass or sunburst radiating out 16 ¼ to 17" in diameter from a central circle. The fabrics are precisely cut--in a technique called "fussy cut" by modern quilters--to center motifs within each shape. There is a four-inch wide sashing and outer border of a printed rose-pattern floral stripe. It is quilted with 7 to 8 running stitches per inch, following the piecing and in a modified heart shape filling in each white space around the compass. The binding consists of white pattern-woven cotton. The white cotton backing is made up of two strips about 35 ½ inches wide and one strip 23" wide.Label TextThis vibrant pieced quilt in a pattern often referred to as Mariner's Compass or Sunburst is a masterpiece of cutting, piecing, and quilt making. Consisting of sixteen blocks of printed, striped, plaid, and plain cottons, the fabrics are precisely cut, in a technique called "fussy cut" by modern quilters, to center motifs within each shape. Equally compelling is the quilt's provenance, which attributes it to Mary Wright Williams, an Irish immigrant to New York City.
Inscription(s)No inscriptions.Mark(s)No marks.ProvenanceThis quilt is said to be made by Mary Wright Williams, Mrs. John Williams, who had emigrated from Cork County, Ireland. According to genealogical records, Mary Wright married John Williams in County Cork, Ireland, in 1809. John and Mary Williams, presumably this couple, appear in the 1850 census for the Fifth Ward, New York. John was a 60-year-old laborer and Mary was 56. Their neighbors were born in Ireland or Germany and included tradesmen, laborers, and servants. It is not yet known exactly when the couple emigrated. See Ancestry.com records in object file for later family members. The painting of a woman thought to be the quilt maker’s grand-daughter, Margaret Haogland (Mrs. Homer) Foot, descended with the quilt, but was not acquired by the museum.