Quilt (Applique quilt)

Description

This pictoral applique quilt depicts two biblical stories from Genesis: The Tower of Babel, and The Table of Nations. A variety of fabrics are used in the quilt. The background and floral elements are composed mostly of cotton and furnishing fabrics while the tower itself and the surrounding buildings are composed of silk and velvet. The quilt depicts the tower crumbling, separating the nations and/or languages. Surrounding the tower are three buildings and a plethora of human and animal figures, from an ostrich to a rat. This quilt was found in Carlisle Pennsylvania, famously home to the Carlisle Indian School, which forcefully assimilated Native American youth from 1879 to 1918. The quilt looks like it was created around this time span. The stories depicted in the quilt are especially notable within the context of the school and its goal of forcefully uniting nations under one language. The indigenous students at the school were taught to sew and upholster furniture, some exhibiting their quilts at local fairs. It is possible that a student could have made this quilt with access to various fabrics from the trade shops at Carlisle.