Minneapolis Institute of Art

Diamond in Square quilt

United States (Pennsylvania), Amish

Date

c. 1910

Medium

Wool, cotton, pieced and quilted

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Even a simple quilt design can pack a powerful graphic punch, as this one does with its contrasting color scheme. The Diamond in Square is a longtime favorite of the Amish. Amish codes of conduct reject all forms of ostentation, pride, and vanity. Amish quilters therefore use patterns that are simple and feature nonrepresentational geometric shapes. They prefer piecing large fabric components and avoid appliqué. Representational imagery is allowed, however, in the quilting stitches worked subtly across a quilt’s surface. Here, the fine quilting stiches—visible only up close—form feather wreaths, eight-pointed stars, roses, and tulips. United States, Americas

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