QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-281

Who documented this quilt?

Winedale Quilt Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Texas Quilt Search Number:

TMM376-1

Alternate inventory control number:

W2h34.03

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

technical reviewer

When was the form filled out?

1940, 2007

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Other

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

donor, technical reviewer

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Sunburst

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Russian Sunburst, Rising sun, Kansas Sunflower

Brackman # or other source & #:

3480

How wide is the quilt?

88 in.

How long is the quilt?

91 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Brown; Cream; Red

Antique colors:

Madder Red or Cinnamon Red; Prussian Blue or Lafayette Blue

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Dirty; Disintegration of fabric; Fading; Stains; Tears or holes; Wear to edge or binding

Describe the damage:

random dark brown staining

Repairs:

Stabilized with netting

Describe the repairs:

Crepeline has been sewn over each large chintz circle

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

This quilt may have been repaired and/or stabilized in 1984-1985 when members of the Austin Area Quilt Guild helped a professional textile conservator repair and/or stabilize approximately thirty quilts then owned by the Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin.

Type of inscription:

Date; Multiple Names; Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Sterling and/Mary Orgain/1818

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1818

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting; Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

corded quilting; does not show thrugh to the back

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

center of top

Time period:

1800-1849

Family/owner's date for quilt:

donor dates quilt to 1818

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1818

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Jan Wass

Further information concerning dates:

Fabrics and construction are consistent with the 1818 date

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

36 full circles; 28 partial circles

Size of quilt blocks:

10 1/4 in. diameter

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side; Other

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Chintz

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Print; Solid/plain; Striped

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

there are different floral motifs between the sunbursts, each done with cording and stuffed work

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Cream

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Width of pieces on the back:

29 in., 32 in., 3 in.

Describe the back:

Hand sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Edges turned in/ no separate binding; Front turned to back; Other

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

less than a half inch

How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?

front turned to back on 3 sides; edges turned in on 1 side (possibly a repair)

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Corded; Hand quilting; Stuffed work

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white, blue

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8 in center circle and diamonds

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

14-17 in trapunto section, although this cording and stuffed work stitching does not go through to the quilt back.

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral

Describe the quilting designs used:

Pieced circles are outline quilted with matching thread; center circles have triangles converging in center.

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

The Sunburst pattern on this quilt consists of circles formed from a central circle in chintz in a large scale floral print fabric 5 inches in diameter surrounded by a row of 16 white triangles with a 1 inch base. The triangles are surrounded with 16 diamond shaped pieces in a small floral print, and then by additional 16 triangles with a 2 inch base in red and white striped fabric. This pattern is repeated 36 times across the quilt, and is quartered in the corners. In addition, different floral motifs done in cording and stuffed work appear between the sunbursts. Each sunburst has been hand pieced into the blocks, not appliqued on, that is, the off white field has been cut away and the sunbursts have been pieced to it. The stitching for these does not appear from the back; holding the quilt up to the light, an intermediate layer of cloth appears behind this whitework.

Where the quilt was made, state:

Tennessee (TN)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Original donor William Orgain of Beaumont, Texas, stated that this quilt was brought to Texas by his grandparents in about 1850.

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

This quilt is one of approximately forty-two quilts that the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM) at the University of Texas at Austin transferred to the University’s Center for American History (CAH) in April 2003 as part of TMM’s transfer of selected material culture objects from its collections to CAH and other research facilities on the UT-Austin campus. These TMM quilts are now part of CAH’s Winedale Quilt Collection. Information relating to each quilt’s provenance is based on documentation recorded by TMM staff at the time of acquisition, which began in the 1940s and continued until 2003. Donor records indicate, and presence of names on quilt, suggest that this quilt was made as a wedding gift for Sterling and Mary Orgain. Grandson William E. Orgain donated this quilt to TMM on March 26, 1940.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

Details about why the quilt was made:

Donor family history records that this quilt was made as a wedding gift for Sterling and Mary Orgain, who were married in 1818.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, daily use

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection; Study or teaching aid

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

"From Our Hands: A Sesquicentennial Celebration of Quilts," February 16 - March 29, 1986, Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin; annual quilt show, February 2004, 2005, Winedale, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Described in exhibition catalog for "From Our Hands: A Sesquicentennial Celebration of Quilts," Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin, 1986.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Quilt owner's city:

Austin

Quilt owner's county:

Travis

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Tennessee

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Billy Moore

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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