Wreath and Roses
Mary Elizabeth Beardslee Durkee
Birmingham, Oakland County, Michigan
c.1860
74" x 92"
Cotton with cotton filling
MSU Museum Accession 1999:12.4
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, all rights reserved Michigan State University Museum

The rose was among the most common motifs selected for 19th century appliquéd quilts. Red, yellow and green fabric appliqued to a white background grew in popularity as the reliability of dyes increased during the mid-1800s. This quilt, representative of its time period, was created by the donor's great-grandmother.

Excerpted from Great Lakes, Great Quilts.