MOSAIC PATCHWORK QUILT

The center panel of this coverlet is composed of thousands of thumbnail-sized hexagonal pieces of small-pattern cotton fabrics, arranged in a pattern known today as “stars and honeycombs.” Taking advantage of the printed designs to add visual interest to the mosaic pattern, the maker carefully centered many of the printed motifs—especially small floral forms—on the hexagonal shapes. Much of the glazed finish remains on the surface of these tiny swatches as well as on the wide chintz border, an indication that the bedcover was not wetcleaned.

According to an inked note on the back, the quilt was made by Elizabeth Porcher Palmer and her mother, Elizabeth Marion Porcher. If this information is correct, then Elizabeth Marion Porcher constructed the mosaic panel much earlier, in the 1790s; her daughter Elizabeth Portcher Parlmer added a new chintz border about 1830. Perhaps it was decided to make this quilt look more up-to-date by framing it in a stylish fabric before passing it on to the next generation.

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.