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Black Uncle Sam pieced miniature quilt

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Created by

    Stephen Blumrich, German American, 1941 - 2015

    Description

    This miniature quilt or wall hanging made by Stephen Blumrich of Pea Ridge Purties features twelve (12) pieced Black Uncle Sam blocks separated by sashing. The quilt consists of the pieced top layer, a thin layer of batting, and a plain muslin backing. The layers are tied together with red thread, each tie corresponding to make a button at the center chest of the shirt of the pieced figural blocks. Each figure wears a red and white striped top hat with a blue brim and has his arms outstretched. The faces and hands are made from plain black cotton. Yellow eyes and a red mouth are embroidered on each face. All of the figures wear red and white striped pants matching the hats, but each figure's shirt is made from a different printed cotton. The background of the figural blocks is made from a plain muslin that appears to have been dyed with tea or coffee to appear aged. The blocks are set with sashing made from a navy cotton with small floral sprig design, with a yellow fabric in the sashing corners that is fussy cut so that a five-pointed star is at the center of the squares. The top is surrounded by a thin border made from plain red cotton. The backing of the quilt is made from a single piece of the same plain muslin dyed with coffee or tea that is used in the background of the figural blocks. Stamped in the lower right corner of the back is a rectangle in dark brown with uncolored text inside reading "PEA RIDGE / PURTIES." Text stamped in dark brown below the box reads "COPYRIGHT 1986 / STEPHEN BLUMRICH".

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer

    Date

    1986

    Object number

    2007.7.263

    Restrictions & Rights

    Unknown - Restrictions Possible
    Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    quilts

    Medium

    cotton

    Dimensions

    H x W x D: 30 × 21 7/8 × 1/4 in. (76.2 × 55.6 × 0.6 cm)

    Place made

    Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Textiles and Quilts

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Art
    Craftsmanship
    Design
    Folklife

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5fde4ae98-da08-43c1-9ee0-542db64f4df3

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2007.7.263

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