The most famous
surviving example of quilting, from approximately 100 A.D., is
currently in the Leningrad Department of the Institute
of Archaeology in Russia. It was found in a Siberian grave in 1924-25.
According to Colby:
It consists of a repetitive series of large
clock-wise and anticlockwise spirals, with smaller scroll patterns joined to
them and filling the intervening spaces, to make a continuous pattern. The narrow border surrounding the quilted
centre contains a row of geometrically shaped interlocking patterns, outlined
with closely stitched twisted thread and quilted to the foundation. The chief border is coarsely quilted in
diagonal and cross diamond lines, upon which are appliquéd, in brown, purple
and white […] cloth, a number of symbolic tree and animal shapes. The high order of artistry and skill […] show
that a long cultural tradition lay behind the work at the time it was
done. Not only are the patterns full of
life and vigor
but the attention to detail and the way in which the work is carried out give proof of a […] long standing
tradition (5-6).
It was long believed that quilting, if it existed at all in pre-colonial
America,
was crude and unadorned. This quilt
shows that some locations already had a long and practiced quilting history
over 2000 years ago.
Source: Colby, Averil. Quilting. New
York: Scribner and Sons, 1971.
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