FRAMED-CENTER CHINTZ APPLIQUE QUILT

Quilts have always answered the physical needs of warmth and comfort. In the antebellum period, however, quilted bedcovers were also created for display of technical expertise and of the latest fashion in high-end imported textiles. These ornamental objects took advantage of colorful and expensive chintz fabrics imported from England, some of which were produced especially for use in coverlets. Sometime in the 1840s, Catherine Couturier Marion Palmer stitched and quilted a framed center chintz appliqué quilt, which, according to its inked inscription, was intended for her daughter, Harriet Marion Palmer. To create the central scene, floral and faunal motifs from at least five different imported chintz fabrics were carefully cut out, arranged, and slipstitched onto a white cotton ground. The designs include morning glories, roses, clusters and small sprays of miscellaneous flowers, fanciful birds, and peacocks. This selective cutting made extravagant rather than economical use of the fabrics. Quilt historian Laurel Horton has described this process as “converting yardage into ‘Swiss cheese’ remnants,” noting that the practice was an indicator of the economic status of the maker.

This quilt is one of three in MESDA’s collection worked by two generations of related and well-to-do Lowcountry planter families, the Marions and Palmers.