Floral Motifs on Early Chintz
Narcissus sp. - Daffodil
Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) from Victoria and Albert Museum, Furnishing Fabric Printed by Talwin and Foster, c 1780
Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) by Rosendahl/ Public Domain
Assorted Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) from Eeden, A.C. van, Album van Eeden, Haarlems flora, afbeeldingen in kleurendruk van verschillende bol- en knolgewassen, plate 95, f. 6, 1879
Common Names:  Daffodil, Narcissus, Jonquil depending on the species or horticultural variety

Description: Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) is a member of the Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae).  The Hortus Kewensis, ed. 2, vol. 2 recorded seventeen species of Narcissus native to Britain, Europe, and the Levant.  Today we recognize about 50 species and more than a thousand horticultural varieties.  The Royal Horticultural Society has designated thirteen Divisions of horticultural and wild type members of the genus.  Click here to view pictures and short descriptions of these Divisions.


Quilts with this Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) motif: 
 
  • None known at this time
 
Chintz with this Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) motif: 
 
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Furnishing Fabric Printed by Talwin and Foster, Object Number Circ.92-1960, c 1780
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Creeping Cereus Printed by Talwin and Foster, Object Number T. 15-1978, 1770 to 1799
                                                   Additional Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) Motifs 
                                                                  (No pictures available at this time)


Quilts each with a different Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) motif: 
 
  • Byron and Sara Rhodes Dillow Collection, International Quilt Museum, Album Quilt Made by the Members of the Evangelical Sewing Society of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, PA, Object Number 2008.040.0004, Chintz Applique: From Imitation to Icon, Plate 17, p. 39, dated 1846 (Showing a single small cupped daffodil, probably Division 3)
  • Ardis and Robert James Collection,  International Quilt Museum, Album Quilt Made by the Members of the Freehold Baptist Church of Upper Freehold Township, NJ, Object Number 1997.007.0441, Chintz Applique: From Imitation to Icon, Plate 35, dated 1852 (Showing a single trumpet daffodil, Division 1)
  • The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Appliqued Quilt Square, Object Number 2002-73,12, Four Centuries of Quilts, p. 107, c 1849 (Single small cup daffodil, Division 3)
  • Private Collection, Broderie Perse Medallion Quilt Top Made by Johanna Davis, at quiltindex.org and do an advanced search and for Quiltmaker type in Davis, Johanna and for Project/Collection select Kentucky Quilt Project, c 1845-1853 (Yellow jonquil-type flowers with orange cups, Division 7 and white single small orange cup flowers, probably Division 3)
  • The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Wholecloth Quilt, Object Number 1969.3901, Printed Textiles: British and American Cottons and Linens 1700-1850, p. 238,c  1795 (Single white flowers with small orange cups, probably Division 3)
  • The American Museum in Britain, Chintz Summer Bedspread, Object Number 2005.22, Classic Quilts from the American Museum in Britain, p. 56, c 1830 (Because of the way the fabric is printed it is not possible to identify the floral motifs futher than Narcissus sp. as the number of small cupped flowers per stem cannot be determined)



Three quilts each with the same single flowered, small cupped probably Division 3 or Division 9 Narcissus sp. (Daffodil) motif: 

  • Shelburne Museum, George Washington Peter Quilt, Chintz Quilts: Unfading Glory, Cover photo, 1825-1850
  • Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth Welsh Medallion Quilt, Object Number 78.36, c 1830
  • Private Collection of Catherine Sharoky, Reverse Applique Eagle Quilt Attributed to Catherine Markey Garnhart, Eye on Elegance: Early Quilts of Maryland & Virginia, p. 81, 1830s




    ©  Updated 3/1/2020      Author: Terry Terrell