QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-1066

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

01.0243

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

2001:160.2

Object label:

Mikado Quilt
Maker Unknown
Possibly made in Pennsylvania
c1890
Deborah Harding Redwork Collection, Michigan State University Museum, #2001:160.2

Essay:

Japanese-inspired designs became increasingly popular in America after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition where more than nine million people were reported to have visited the Japanese pavilion. A variety of Asian-inspired motifs became popular in American art, including cranes, kimono clad figures, fans, teacups, vases, bowls, paper lanterns, spiders in webs, apple blossoms, and chrysanthemums. The Mikado, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan set in Japan, debuted to amazing success in 1885. By May 1886, patterns inspired by the Mikado began appearing in Godey's Ladies Book and soon after, Mikado patterns were offered by a number of magazines.

By Mary Worrall from Redwork: A Textile Tradition in America, exhibit.

Quilt's title:

Mikado quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

redwork; Mikado, Kate Greenaway, flowers, horseshoes, spinning wheel, frogs, owls, birds

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

1876-1900

When was the quilt finished?

c.1890

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

65 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

65 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Number of quilt blocks:

36 embroidered, 25 plain

Size of quilt blocks:

8" x 8"

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Straight grain

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

Japanese designs became increasingly popular after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial. Patterns for the Mikado began appearing in the May 1886 issue of Godeys.

Describe the source of the pattern:

Commercial (book, magazine, etc.)

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Deborah Harding, Red and White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns, Rizzoli, 2000 p 57-59.

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Deborah Harding purchased the quilt from a New Hampshire dealer, in 2001, who identified it as coming from a Pennsylvania estate sale.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum