Six Eagle Quilts

Eagle Quilt (Number 1)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gift of Mrs. Jacob Kaplan

Possibly Made in New England

#1974.32

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/13899

A Pair of Twins

Quilt date-inscribed 1842 (Number 2)

From Knowlton, New Jersey

David Wheatcroft Antiques in Massachusetts

The quilts obviously have much in common:

• One piece eagle with peaked shield
• Bowknot and vine swag under the eagle
• Spiky triangle border and zigzag border
• Six-pointed stars (26 in one, 25 in the other with 4 additional stars in border)

Another characterstic is the feathers on the head

rather than a smooth, curved head.

We might guess that one woman made both or that two women shared a pattern or a teacher.

These eagles also seem to have some rather awkward cousins.

Braintree Historical Society, (Number 3)

Massachusetts Project, Quilt Index.

Attributed to the Van Alta family

http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=1D-FC-E10

This one has 29 stars of a different kind plus a fringe around the dogtooth triangle edge. Also a red dogtooth tail. Are those eggs under the eagle?

Also notice the birds along the sides, similar to Quilt Number 2

Massachusetts Project, Quilt Index (Number 4)

Attributed to the Garrison Family, Hartford (CT?)

This one has 32 stars and the eagle is flipped.

http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=1D-FC-5DF

The four above seem to have New England in common.

The quilt below, also from the Quilt Index, is from the Illinois State Museum.

How many stars? 29 above the eagle,

6 in the gold field below

and 2 below that = 37 in all

plus 4 in the flag at the top

http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/art/htmls/hh_gilchrist.html

The family donated the quilt in 1966 and knew quite a bit

about the maker. They guessed it be made about 1848.

This picture of a mid-century quilt I found on line has no information with it.

Rather than being a medallion with a central focus

it's four repeated blocks.

The eagles are so belligerent they don't carry any olive branches---

just arrows.

More later.....