Four-Block Tulip quilt, or Floral quilt, unknown maker from the United States

Exhibition Label: "Quilts: Flora Botanica," Jun-2008, Barbara Brackman and Susan Earle This four-block quilt by an unknown maker shows real skill in the appliqué stitches and unusual design. The blocks were probably made between 1840 and 1880 and set together, bordered and quilted at a later date. Quilting stitches and quilting design (a one-inch grid) reflect lower standards for needlework typical at the end of the century. The pattern is often viewed as a bud or a tulip, but its basic identity relates to the pomegranate used for centuries in Asian and European decorative arts. The fruit is split in profile, often depicted with remnants of the blossom on top and the leaves below. Pomegranates have rich symbolism in many cultures. In Jewish metaphor the fruit is considered to have 613 seeds-corresponding to the Torah’s 613 commandments. The Muslim Koran mentions it as a gift from Allah. Christian symbolism suggests it as the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden (a possible reason for the quilt pattern name Love Apple). It was also a forbidden fruit in Greek myth where Persephone brought about winter’s curse by eating its seeds. English embroiderers borrowing fanciful images from India, China, and the Muslim world decorated textiles with pomegranates in their Jacobean-style crewel work. Spanish conquistadors brought the image of La Granada to New Spain where we still see it in the Navajo squash blossom.