OUTSTANDING NEEDLEWORK EMBROIDERED WOOL QUILT FROM THE DYER FAMILY.

OUTSTANDING NEEDLEWORK EMBROIDERED WOOL QUILT FROM THE DYER FAMILY. Late 18th or early 19th Century. This fabulous folk art quilt descended through the Dyer family who originated in Plymouth, Mass. moving to Vinalhaven, and then to the central Maine area. The following description was prepared by Lynne Z. Bassett who is considered to be the foremost expert on early American quilts. Embroidered and pieced wool quilts are probably the rarest type of eighteenth- or nineteenth-century American bed covering. While they are not unique to New England, the majority originated from this region. Most wool bed covers that feature embroidery are either bed rugs (a single-layer textile with the entire surface covered with embroidery stitches), or fancy blankets, with overall floral designs or designs worked within the squares of a woven checked pattern. The maker of the Dyer family quilt presented herself with a particularly laborious challenge: creating a design using multiple techniques—piecing, quilting, and embroidery (any one of which might be deemed sufficient by most early nineteenth-century needlewomen). This beautiful quilt is the most recent discovery in this genre of bed covering. Measuring 99 inches long by 115 inches wide, it features cut-out corners to accommodate the bed’s foot posts. The main fabric, a plain-woven light brown wool, was probably produced in the home, as was the pale yellow, plain-woven backing fabric, which has a wool weft and factory-spun cotton warp. The center section of the top is pieced with fine black broadcloth (commonly used for men’s suit coats), in squares measuring approximately nine inches in each direction, set on point and alternating with the brown wool. The twenty-nine-inch-wide drops on the sides and bottom are not pieced. The quilting, accomplished at about six stitches per inch, is worked in two-ply worsted thread (brown or blue, depending on the fabric being quilted). A pattern of concentric right-angle points directed towards the center is quilted in each brown block, while the drops are quilted in a triple diamond trellis design, with four-lobed motifs filling the openings of the trellis pattern. The black blocks are simply quilted in parallel lines. Wool fleece provides the batting, and a gray-green worsted fabric, cut on the straight grain, binds the edges. Wool quilts are typically finished with a knife edge (the raw edges turned in and topstitched), so this binding is somewhat unusual. Wool yarn embroidery, beautifully executed in outline, chain, and surface satin stitches, embellishes the twenty squares and fourteen triangles of the black broadcloth. Interestingly, the wool yarns used are not crewel, nor are they Berlin yarns; they are slightly hairy and may have been homespun. The orangey-red, pale green, yellow, blue, and dark pink (along with white) colors were easily achievable with dyes procured from surrounding vegetation and the local country store. The consistency of the colors indicates an expert dyer. Most of the squares and triangles feature floral designs: spriggy flowers growing out of baskets and small vessels, flowers arranged in a grid, and flowers simply sprouting from the edges of the block. The black broadcloth background enriches their colors. The four blocks across the top of the quilt, where they would have covered the pillows, feature unusual motifs and give this quilt particular interest. Two of the blocks feature fish, simply outlined in yellow, red, and green chain stitches, laid side-by-side. The larger fish are decorated with simple lazy daisy stitches, worked in a manner as if to suggest the glistening body of the wet fish. The three fins across the top of the fish and two underneath suggest that these are cod, the most important staple of the New England fishing industry. A two-masted sailing ship in another block undoubtedly represents a fisherman’s vessel. An American eagle, with wings outspread, arrows held in its talons, and a shield design representing its body, decorates the fourth block. Clearly, the quilter wished to manifest her pride in the new United States of America and in the New England fishing industry. Every detail of this quilt—the fabrics, quilting design, and embroidery motifs—suggests a date of the early nineteenth century. The Dyer family history is also consistent with an early nineteenth century date. The Dyers, who were Mayflower descendants, moved from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Vinalhaven, Maine, in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Both of these communities depended a great deal on the fishing industry. In the mid-nineteenth century, the family moved inland to the Augusta area, so a quilt with fish motifs seems less likely to be a pictorial quilt subject. The quilt is in overall good condition. The wool fabric has faded slightly along the left side, appearing more brown than along the right side, which has more red to its color. There are scattered small holes due to insect damage scattered throughout the quilt. The back fabric reveals that an alkaline-type liquid once spilled on it, as it has a large moisture stain with deterioration of the wool yarns while the cotton yarns are largely undamaged. Most importantly, the top is in very good condition, with little to mar its delightful design. The Dyer family embroidered wool quilt is a wonderful example of this rare form of bedcover, offering excellent workmanship, a folk art design that is not only pleasing but meaningful, and a history within one of the longest-standing New England families. SIZE: 99” l x 115” w. CONDITION: The quilt is in overall good condition, with some fading and small holes due to insect damage scattered throughout the quilt. The back having a stain and generally the top is in very good condition with little to detract from its folk art appeal. 9-73890 (30,000-50,000)

Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - Winter 2008

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	796	$0.00	OUTSTANDING NEEDLEWORK EMBROIDERED WOOL QUILT FROM THE DYER FAMILY. Late 18th or early 19th Century. This fabulous folk art quilt descended through the Dyer family who originated in Plymouth, Mass. moving to Vinalhaven, and then to the central Maine area. The following description was prepared by Lynne Z. Bassett who is considered to be the foremost expert on early American quilts. Embroidered and pieced wool quilts are probably the rarest type of eighteenth- or nineteenth-century American bed covering. While they are not unique to New England, the majority originated from this region. Most wool bed covers that feature embroidery are either bed rugs (a single-layer textile with the entire surface covered with embroidery stitches), or fancy blankets, with overall floral designs or designs worked within the squares of a woven checked pattern. The maker of the Dyer family quilt presented herself with a particularly laborious challenge: creating a design using multiple techniques—piecing, quilting, and embroidery (any one of which might be deemed sufficient by most early nineteenth-century needlewomen). This beautiful quilt is the most recent discovery in this genre of bed covering. Measuring 99 inches long by 115 inches wide, it features cut-out corners to accommodate the bed’s foot posts. The main fabric, a plain-woven light brown wool, was probably produced in the home, as was the pale yellow, plain-woven backing fabric, which has a wool weft and factory-spun cotton warp. The center section of the top is pieced with fine black broadcloth (commonly used for men’s suit coats), in squares measuring approximately nine inches in each direction, set on point and alternating with the brown wool. The twenty-nine-inch-wide drops on the sides and bottom are not pieced. The quilting, accomplished at about six stitches per inch, is worked in two-ply worsted thread (brown or blue, depending on the fabric being quilted). A pattern of concentric right-angle points directed towards the center is quilted in each brown block, while the drops are quilted in a triple diamond trellis design, with four-lobed motifs filling the openings of the trellis pattern. The black blocks are simply quilted in parallel lines. Wool fleece provides the batting, and a gray-green worsted fabric, cut on the straight grain, binds the edges. Wool quilts are typically finished with a knife edge (the raw edges turned in and topstitched), so this binding is somewhat unusual. Wool yarn embroidery, beautifully executed in outline, chain, and surface satin stitches, embellishes the twenty squares and fourteen triangles of the black broadcloth. Interestingly, the wool yarns used are not crewel, nor are they Berlin yarns; they are slightly hairy and may have been homespun. The orangey-red, pale green, yellow, blue, and dark pink (along with white) colors were easily achievable with dyes procured from surrounding vegetation and the local country store. The consistency of the colors indicates an expert dyer. Most of the squares and triangles feature floral designs: spriggy flowers growing out of baskets and small vessels, flowers arranged in a grid, and flowers simply sprouting from the edges of the block. The black broadcloth background enriches their colors. The four blocks across the top of the quilt, where they would have covered the pillows, feature unusual motifs and give this quilt particular interest. Two of the blocks feature fish, simply outlined in yellow, red, and green chain stitches, laid side-by-side. The larger fish are decorated with simple lazy daisy stitches, worked in a manner as if to suggest the glistening body of the wet fish. The three fins across the top of the fish and two underneath suggest that these are cod, the most important staple of the New England fishing industry. A two-masted sailing ship in another block undoubtedly represents a fisherman’s vessel. An American eagle, with wings outspread, arrows held in its talons, and a shield design representing its body, decorates the fourth block. Clearly, the quilter wished to manifest her pride in the new United States of America and in the New England fishing industry. Every detail of this quilt—the fabrics, quilting design, and embroidery motifs—suggests a date of the early nineteenth century. The Dyer family history is also consistent with an early nineteenth century date. The Dyers, who were Mayflower descendants, moved from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Vinalhaven, Maine, in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Both of these communities depended a great deal on the fishing industry. In the mid-nineteenth century, the family moved inland to the Augusta area, so a quilt with fish motifs seems less likely to be a pictorial quilt subject. The quilt is in overall good condition. The wool fabric has faded slightly along the left side, appearing more brown than along the right side, which has more red to its color. There are scattered small holes due to insect damage scattered throughout the quilt. The back fabric reveals that an alkaline-type liquid once spilled on it, as it has a large moisture stain with deterioration of the wool yarns while the cotton yarns are largely undamaged. Most importantly, the top is in very good condition, with little to mar its delightful design. The Dyer family embroidered wool quilt is a wonderful example of this rare form of bedcover, offering excellent workmanship, a folk art design that is not only pleasing but meaningful, and a history within one of the longest-standing New England families. SIZE: 99” l x 115” w. CONDITION: The quilt is in overall good condition, with some fading and small holes due to insect damage scattered throughout the quilt. The back having a stain and generally the top is in very good condition with little to detract from its folk art appeal. 9-73890 (30,000-50,000) Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - Winter 2008 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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