QUILT INDEX RECORD
25-21-336
Who documented this quilt?
Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin
Texas Quilt Search Number:
tqs_0004
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; Other
Source of the information on this quilt:
This quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.
When was the form filled out?
1983-1985
Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:
Quilt owner; Other
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Inherited
Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:
The present owner of this quilt is the great granddaughter of its maker.
This is a:
Finished quilt
Owner's name for quilt:
Lotus Flower
How wide is the quilt?
86 1/2 in.
How long is the quilt?
101 in.
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Green; Red; White
Overall color scheme:
Bright or primary colors
Quilt's condition:
Good/moderate use
Damage:
Fading; Stains; Wear to edge or binding
Describe the damage:
Fading on green; badly stained.
Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:
Blue-yellow dyes used to make green are fading, especially yellow, giving green a blue cast. In 1985, as part of the preparations for the “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” exhibit in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association sponsored a Quilt Conservation Seminar. Part of the seminar was a two-day intensive hands-on laboratory attended by quilt experts who stabilized, backed, or otherwise prepared the quilts, including this one, for this exhibition.
Type of inscription:
Signature; Other
What is inscribed on the quilt?
A single large red X appears on one vase only; some thought that this was a signature mark.
Location of inscription:
on block
Time period:
1800-1849
Family/owner's date for quilt:
ca. 1835
Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:
ca. 1835
Who estimated the quilt's date?
Karey Bresenhan
Further information concerning dates:
Current owner knows that quiltmaker, her great grandmother, made the quilt sometime around the time Red River County, Texas, was organized in 1837.
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Subject of the quilt:
Lotus flower
Number of quilt blocks:
6
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Side by side
Describe the quilt setting:
flower motifs oriented inward toward quilt center line.
Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:
1
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric types used to make the quilt top:
Broadcloth
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Solid/plain
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Applique
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
What color is the back of the quilt?
White
Describe the back:
Hand sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
less than a half inch
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Thread type used for the quilting:
cotton
Color of thread used in the quilting:
white
Width between quilting lines:
1/4 inch
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Outline
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Vines
Describe the quilting designs used:
Center portion of quilt is embellished with decorative vining feather quilting design, which is repeated as borders. All have a variation of the Lotus Flower between the feathers. Ripple quilting follows the outline of the design element is used to fill in border area.
Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:
Knots appear on back. Karey Bresenhan speculates that this may indicate quilter was using recycled thread of such short lengths that she was unable to hide her knots.
Where the quilt was made, city:
Bagwell area
Where the quilt was made, county:
Red River
Where the quilt was made, state:
Texas (TX)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Inheritance
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
The present owner of the quilt Ruby Mars does not known the name of the quiltmaker, only that it was her great grandmother. It is possible the quiltmaker's family lived in Bagwell, Texas, a small town in northeastern Texas, where one son worked as a blacksmith. The couple's daughter inherited the quilt, which was then passed on to a niece, Mrs. Mars.
Why was the quilt made?
Unknown
Quilt is presently used as:
Keepsake/memento
Where did the maker get their materials?
Unknown
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Public domain/traditional pattern
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
One of 62 Texas quilts exhibited in “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936,” Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986.
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search Archives
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press: 1986), p. 30-31.
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Mars, Ruby
Quilt owner's state:
Texas (TX)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's state:
Texas (TX)
Who photographed this quilt?
Sharon Risedorph
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
Assistant Director Winedale
Cite this Quilt
Lotus Flower. 1800-1849. From Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=25-21-336. Accessed: 04/18/24