Elizabeth R. Ellis, George Sanders, and others
Grapevine Wreath-Memorial to Susannah Riley
1846
Scroll
- Maker: Elizabeth R. Ellis
- Made for: George Sanders
- Dedicated to: Susannah Riley
Grapevine Wreath-Memorial to Susannah Riley
1846
Physical Qualities
Cotton; silk or cotton embroidery threads; ink, 17-1/2 x 17-3/4 in. (44.4 x 45.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert V. Brawley, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Object Number
1981.150
An album quilt square consisting of a muslin ground with designs created through appliqué and embroidery with handwritten ink inscription added. Motifs include two bunches of red and two bunches of purple/lavender grapes arranged with leaves in a circular wreath. Within the wreath is an inscription to the memory of Susannah Riley signed by Elizabeth R. Ellis for George Sanders. Fabrics used include Turkey-red plain calico, purple/ lavender plain calico, and a green ground print with vermiculate-type pattern in black. The edges of appliquéd fabrics are covered with handsewn buttonhole stitches in matching colors. The square is unlined and has neither batting nor quilting. The edges are unfinished, but bear marks that may indicate that it was once part of an unfinished quilt top, now disassembled.
Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1981; Robert Brawley. Winston-Salem, NC.
Dena S. Katzenberg, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts," 1980-1982, catalog does not include 1981.150, 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.
Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Sweet Dreams: Quilts and Coverlets from the Collection," Oct. 26-Dec. 31, 1994, no catalog.
Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts: Appliquéd Artistry," Nov. 5, 2003-May 9, 2004, no catalog.
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.
Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Sweet Dreams: Quilts and Coverlets from the Collection," Oct. 26-Dec. 31, 1994, no catalog.
Anita Jones, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baltimore Album Quilts: Appliquéd Artistry," Nov. 5, 2003-May 9, 2004, no catalog.
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: "In memory of/Susannah Riley/Made by her daughter,/Elizabeth R. Ellis./She is gone to [a] world far better than this,/Where angels rejoice in regions of bliss;/In the footsteps of Jesus she faithfully trod,/and now she is singing the praises of God./For an esteemed friend/ George Sanders." (inked)