1852 Applique Southern Quilt

Appraised on: July 26, 2003

Appraised in: Chicago, Illinois

Appraised by: Ken Farmer

Category: Rugs & Textiles

Episode Info: Trash to Treasure (#1220)
Chicago, Hour 3 (#802)

Originally Aired: January 12, 2004

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (1:53)

GUEST: My dad's great-aunt had passed away and they had an estate sale, and there was an old chest that never sold. I guess it was old and ratty and they got ready to pick it up and throw it to the curb and out pops this quilt. It drops out of the bottom of the chest.

APPRAISER: The bottom of the chest. Was it wrapped in paper or anything?

GUEST: It was wrapped in a sheet. When I saw this, it was like Christmas.

APPRAISER: These oversize quilts are pretty common in the valley of Virginia. You see them down through North Carolina. And this is a tour de force for what your relative was doing as far as her skill level. First of all, it's appliquéd on cotton and these fabrics I know date from the mid-19th century. And the other thing that's wonderful is that she did a trapunto type of work, where she stuffed cotton up inside of there as she was doing the quilting.

GUEST: Oh, that I didn't know.

APPRAISER: See how it puffs out in different places?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: The design is based on an overall geometric pattern. I've heard some people refer to this as a variation of a whig rose, but it's really a floral pattern in a wreath. And everybody sort of added their own touch to that as they were making their quilts.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And the other thing that I think that makes it a great document is the fact that it's dated right there. And the thing that saved it probably was being in that sheet. Because, normally, when you put something like this in a wooden blanket chest or something where it has acidity coming in from the wood...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: ...that automatically leaches through to the fabric and ruins it.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And none of that has happened. Well, I talked to my compadres over there at the folk art table and we all feel very comfortable with estimating value between $4,000 and $6,000.

GUEST: It'll still hang on my wall. It's from the heart.