Branches and Vines Quilt by Ernestine Zaumseil - c. 1875 - 223.5 × 218.4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Branches and Vines Quilt by Ernestine Zaumseil - c. 1875 - 223.5 × 218.4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art

Branches and Vines Quilt

Cotton, silk, and wool • 223.5 × 218.4 cm
  • Ernestine Zaumseil - 1828 - 1865 Ernestine Zaumseil c. 1875

Well, we must admit ... we have a thing for quilts. It is amazing, time-consuming, and beautiful art. Look at the one we present today; would you say it is actually not painted but crafted?

Ernestine Zaumseil, working in the late 1800s, crafted an exceptional quilt using the Tree of Life pattern, a motif cherished for bedcovers since the 1600s. The earliest iterations of the Tree of Life bedcovers, known as palampores, originated from India and depicted a stylized tree adorned with imaginative fruits and flowers. Unlike the traditional palampores, Zaumseil's rendition of the Tree of Life showcases trees and branches that appear significantly more lifelike. This realism is partly due to her innovative approach of using actual leaves and vines as templates to create the appliqued designs on her quilt.

P.S. Mary Delany is another artist who created flower-inspired artworks. Explore her lifelike collages. If you want to explore artistic quilts, see the articles below.