This quilt from England's Cheltenham Museum is all the rage right now on the internet.
The photos are from the Bridgeman Art Library website. Click here to see them:
It's identified as a wedding quilt by Irishwoman Jane Pizar dated 1860.
Some of the best photos are at Sue's blog here:
http://isewquiltsuk.blogspot.com/2010/04/cheltenham-museum-quilts.html
http://isewquiltsuk.blogspot.com/2010/04/cheltenham-museum-quilts.html
But that date of 1860 just doesn't ring true. It must be older than that. It immediately calls to mind the spectacular quilt below in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
George III reviewing the troops is attributed to about 1805.
It has the same circular center in a field of complex patchwork.
See the quilt at the V and A Museum website by clicking here:
The piecing in both is a variety of wheels.
Comparison A
It's hard to distinguish between the two quilts in closeup. Which is the V and A's from1805 and which the Cheltenham Museum's from 1860?
The patchwork style seems older than 1860. Closeups from Sue's blog also indicate that the prints are older too. They look much like another quilt in the V and A's collection, the 1797 quilt with a sundial in the center of a field of complex patchwork.
See more about this quilt by clicking here:
The prints in this quilt have a distinctive palette and detail.
See more about the 1797 quilt in a blog post I did:
Comparison B
I am just going by photos on the internet but I bet (based on style and fabrics) that quilt is about 1800-1820. When you do a search in that Bridgeman site for Jane Pizar two quilts come up.
I am guessing this simpler medallion with red in the center is the actual 1860 wedding quilt. It's much more typical of that date. They may have mixed up the labels.
The Cheltenham Museum is closed right now for renovation. By the time they reopen their sunburst medallion will be an internet celebrity. Here's the Museum's website:
Answers to above puzzles:
Comparison A:. V and A quilt on the left (1805), Cheltenham Museum's on the right.
Comparison B: Cheltenham Museum's on the left, V and A quilt on the right (1797).
If you are inclined to make a copy of the sunburst medallion or the George III quilt check out the Australian reproductions here:
Carolyn Konig has patterned both at Carolyn's Quilting Room in Victoria. She calls the sunburst medallion the Wedding Quilt.
And Karen Cunningham offered a block of the month last year she called Irish Circles
Barbara Brackman
Saving the World: One Misdated Quilt at A Time
