Four Seasons Quilt, Made by Jane Ann Bidwell

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/31/2019

Rare and Important Four Seasons Quilt, with profuse Applique and Broderie Perse Decoration, Mid-Atlantic States, Likely New Jersey, Made by Jane Ann Bidwell (1799-1865), Jersey City, New Jersey, Ca: 1840 Many of the techniques used in the assembly of this remarkable quilt relate strongly to some of the best quilts from the same period (1840-1860) found throughout the Mid-Atlantic States - from New York to Maryland - at that time. Divided into four separate and distinct panels, the imagery strongly suggests the passage of the four seasons, beginning with barn swallows nesting in an oak tree through a bountiful cornucopia above a holly. Flora and fauna abound across each panel, which include foxes, an owl, a chicken, bluebirds, barn swallows, other birds (possibly cedar waxwings), butterflies and other insects, two nesting birds, flower baskets for each season, oak, apple and cherry trees, roses, tulip flowers and more. What is particularly unusual is the use of approximately 100 applied berries - each individually handmade and then sewn upon the background separately. The pieced cotton material used for the applique includes both vegetable-dyed solids, velvet and floral cut-out cotton chintz used for the broderie perse decoration. Apx. 6'8"l x 7'4"w