Friendship Quilt
Medium
Appliquéd and pieced quilt; dyed and printed plain weave cotton fabrics; ink inscriptions
Dimensions
264.7 × 272.6 cm (104 1/8 × 107 3/8 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
54071
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Inscribed with names and verses, the eighty-five unique squares of this quilt bear signs of friendship and community. Made in an era when communication and travel required significant time and effort, the quilt may have served as a farewell gift on the eve of the recipient's marriage and ensuing move. In one square, an M. C. Coles simply wrote Remember me. In another, Martha Buzby composed a short poem: Oft in tender recollection / Call to mind thine absent friend / Cherish for her that affectio...