Annie Mae Magee Heard
Nine Patch
African American, 1949-1959
Scroll
Annie Mae Magee Heard
Nine Patch
African American, 1949-1959
Physical Qualities
Cotton, 85 1/2 x 65 in. (217.2 x 165.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Eddie Jordan, Baltimore
Object Number
2005.86
Rectangular quilt composed of nine-block squares pieced from a variety of printed, plaid, checked, floral, stripes, and solid materials in multiple colors including pink, pea-green, turquoise, orange, red, black etc. Some fabrics may possibly have been flour or grain sacks of the period. The blocks appear to be arranged in four registers seperated by an irregularlly pieced sashing. The nine-block squares show irregular choices in fabric. (Usually, the middle block on each side is of matching fabric or color, the alternating blocks and center of another color.) This irregularity appears to increase from register to register from the bottom to the top of the quilt (or vice versa depending on which end is considered the top). The quilt back is composed of a blue ground print with yellow, pink, and green floral designs. The binding consists of the back being brought to the front overlapping approximately 1". The quilt is completely hand-pieced. Construction appears to show blocks assembled into vertical strips and then joined strip to strip along the sides to complete the quilt top. The batting appears to be cotton (unprocessed?) and is quite thick and uneven. The bedcover is quiled in large irregular stitches using heavy cotton thread in a pattern that is curved or bent at one end and then straight for about a foot or more until another section is begun. The quilting pattern does not appear related to the piecing.
Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2005; Dorothy Pritt Jordan, Baltimore, MD by descent, 2000; Annie Mae Magee Heard (1913-2000), Quitman, MS.
