Floral Motifs on Early Chintz
Protea sp. - Protea
Protea sp. (Protea)  grown in modern garden
Protea sp. (Protea) from the Applique medallion quilt, Sophia Myers Pearce, Baltimore, Cotton, 1996.0011, Museum purchase with partial gift of Helen Denison Heaton, Courtesy of Winterthur Museum
Protea acutifolia from W. Hooker and R.A. Salisbury, The paradisus Londinensis, plate 2,  1805
Common Names: Protea, Sugarbush 
 
Description: Protea sp. (Protea) is a member of the Protea family (Proteaceae). It occurs in South Africa, Australia, South America, and parts of Asia. The Hortus Kewensis, ed. 2, vol. 1 recorded twenty-three species of Protea, all from the Cape of Good Hope, cultivated in Europe by 1810. 

 
Quilts with the above Protea sp. (Protea) motif: 
 
  • The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Sophia Myers Pearce Quilt, Object Number1996.0011, c.1830-1840 
  • The Poos Collection, Fountain and Swan Center Medallion, Chintz Quilts from the Poos Collection, p. 128, c. 1830 
  • The Poos Collection, Feathered Saw Tooth Star Center Medallion, Chintz Quilts from the Poos Collection, p. 140, c. 1835 
 
Chintz with the above Protea sp. (Protea) motif: 
 
  • The Poos Collection Fountain and Swan Center Medallion quilt mentioned above has a block of fabric showing the Protea and other flowers on a brown background 





   ©  Updated 1/31/2021    Author: Terry Terrell