Minneapolis Institute of Art

Carolina Lily quilt

United States

Date

c. 1870

Medium

Cotton, pieced, appliquéd, and quilted

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Brown flowers? They’re not too common. The blossoms on this quilt probably started out red. Red and green color schemes were all the rage with quilters in the mid and late 1800s. The best-quality red cottons at the time were dyed Turkey red, a plant-based color achieved by a complex dyeing process that originated in Turkey and India. The bright hue would not fade with washing. However, by the 1870s cheaper, synthetic dyes were also in use. Fabrics dyed with synthetic reds were often sold as genuine Turkey red, but the color soon faded to brown or pink. United States, Americas

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