Red and green applique top for a bedcover

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A red and green floral applique top for an unfinished bedcover inscribed "CATHAR / INE W / DEAN / MARCH 18 / 1852". The piecing and applique are all done by hand. The central motif is a basket of flowers. Surrounding the central basket are four fussy cut glazed chintz undulating lines with corner blocks containing four buds, one in each corner, and a floral spray of the floral vine design of the glazed chintz. Elements of the basket motif are outlined in chain stitch with cream thread. The next row of blocks are three stems with three red flowers and one orange bud. The outermost border is an undulating floral vine with red flowers and orange buds. The center, first border, and last border are made of plain white cotton. The middle border is possibly made of a rayon or synthetic fiber.

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