This friendship quilt typifies Victorian-era crazy quilts whose fine fabrics exhibit rich arrays of colors and embroidered embellishments, often with floral motifs. Blooming with daisies and raspberries on the vine, a red silk border frames four vertical and five horizontal blocks pieced from velvet, corduroy, linen, and silk. Baskets of flowers continue the botanical theme in several blocks. Feat
In the early 1980s, archaeologists excavated land along Howard Road, SE before construction began on the Anacostia Metro Station in southeast Washington, DC. Objects unearthed in the excavation revealed nearly 10,000 years of human settlement in the area. Their discoveries included household objects, such as this small glass bottle, which might have been used for medicine. It likely dates to the n
Butterflies and flowers decorate this origami kimono, notable for its gray and pink color palette. The traditional Japanese garment is mounted on a solid blue background, drawing attention to the blue undertones in the pattered paper. Both the subject matter of the kimono and the origami form evidence of artist Ira Blount’s (1918-2020) interest in incorporating different cultural traditions into h
The handle of this round “hen” basket is continuous with the body, creating a circular shape. Green, brown, and natural-colored reeds and wood splints are woven in a plain weave. Some of the splints have been twisted to provide further texture to the basket. The colors and textures offer a nod to the name and history of this type of basket, which was said to be used to transport chickens: the shap
Animal hide stretches across carved wood to form this tall drum made in Haiti. Thin ropes holding the hide are tautly secured to a wider rope tied around the drum’s middle. Wooden wedges fit snugly between ropes and drum. The drum tapers to a smaller cylinder at the bottom.
This basket is woven from wood splints and natural-colored and dyed purple reeds woven in a plain weave. Most of the purple reeds surround the God’s Eye design connecting the handle to the body of the basket. One purple wood splint is situated below the rim, while two round purple reeds accent the handle. Purple glass beads also decorate the handle.
With carefully chosen woods of various hues, artist Ira Blount (1918-2020) seamlessly layered and rounded them into this subtly striped egg. At its apex, thin blond wood trims a wider band of deep brown. Ornamental eggs have origins in Russian and Ukrainian Easter traditions, though they are typically painted or decorated. In allowing natural colors and grains to serve as the egg’s decoration, Blo