Circa 1890 American Amish Quilt, comprising a backing cloth of sage green, split by a trellis design of small nine patch squares on point, circular embroidered quilting to the middle of each square showing traditional quilting patterns, within a red frame and black border with red trim, quilted overall, brown cotton to the reverse, embroidered 'FZ FEK 1890', made in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, 232cm by 200cm

Provenance: Jan Hassard Heritage Collection of Quilts – Part 1

The Amish are a religious off shoot of the Anabaptists, a radical Protestant sect that rose in the 16th century in rebellion against the 'impure' 'worldly' Roman Catholic Church in Europe. They settled near Zurich becoming known as Swiss Brethren, others travelled to the Netherlands and were known as Menonites after their Pastor Menno Simons. The Amish were a group that split from the original Swiss Brethren led by Jackob Ammann, 1737 was the date of the first migration to Pennsylvania, America by the Amish.
The Amish live by the rubric of the Ordnung, which is an oral tradition of religious rules governing their social customs. The quilts adhere to a strict repertoire of patterns, traditionally using plain fabrics, strong graphics, geometric designs and hand quilting delicately stitched in black thread. The first known quilt is dated 1849, and the following dated 1860.