Basket with Bible

1844-1854

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Mary Simon (née Heidenroder)

Basket with Bible

Mary Simon (née Heidenroder)

Basket with Bible

1844-1854

Physical Qualities Cotton, silk, silk velvet, ink, 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (44.5 x 44.5 cm.)

Credit Line Gift of Olive C. Slater

Object Number 1946.44m

The great variety of fabrics available to Baltimoreans may have been partially responsible for the elaborate designs of this city's classic album quilts. Among the most common embellishments found on these famous quilts are wire or wicker baskets created with narrow strips of cloth skillfully appliquéd to the ground. These baskets are filled with roses, tulips, and other flowers composed of pieces cut from a variety of solid and printed materials and appliquéd in one or more layers. Baltimore quilters were clever in their use of multiple fabrics to create their elaborate motifs. The maker of this album square cut sections of an unusual silk brocade to depict the feathered wings of a bird hovering above a basket of flowers. She placed a few velvet pieces judiciously to create an illusion of softly textured flower petals. Various prints with dots and circles became the centers of flowers and the bird's eye, while a rose print with a white star motif served as a flower. A variety of foliage was achieved through the use of numerous green prints.

The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1946; Ms. Olive C. Slater.

Exhibited at The Hecht Company, Baltimore, MD, Sept. 29-October 15, 1971 in connection with exhibit at BMA: Dena S. Katzenberg, Baltimore Museum of Art, The Great American Cover-Up: Counterpanes of the 18th and 19th Centuries," Oct. 24, 1971-Dec. 5, 1972. Exhibit catalog does not include any of these album quilt squares. [Receipt from BMA to Hecht Co., A 2100 dated September, 29 1971; Album quilt squares 1946.44 b, c, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, s, t.]

Dena S. Katzenberg, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts," 1980-1982, catalog does not include 1946.44m, Circulated to: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Nov. 18, 1980-Jan. 11, 1981; Metropolitan Museum, New York, June 30, 1981-Aug. 30, 1981; BMA Dec. 13, 1981-Feb. 7, 1982.
*this square may or may not have been shown in this exhibit.

Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts: Appliquéd Artistry," Nov. 5, 2003-May 9, 2004.

Anita Jones, Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Jean and Allan Berman Textile Gallery, "Baltimore Album Quilts Revisited: A Matter of Style," 2nd rotation, July 3rd, 2008-Jan. 27th, 2009, no catalog.

Inscribed: "Holy Bible" (inked)