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Register No. 973NGA
Owner National Gallery of Australia
Location ACT
Maker Mary Hannaford
Origin AUSTRALIA NSW
Pattern Appliqué Embroidered Pictorial
Dimensions (H x W in cm) 195 x 169
The quilt was made by Mary Jane Hannaford about 1922 at Blanford, near Murrurundi, New South Wales.
"There are seven known quilts initialled 'M.J.H.' five of which are owned by the National Gallery of Australia. Mary Jane's great granddaughter, Miss Joan Swanson, New South Wales donated this quilt to the National Gallery of Australia in 1997." [NGA] "Mary Jane Hannaford was born in Devonshire, England in 1840. She came to Australia on board the 'London', arriving in Sydney in March 1842. The family moved to Tamworth after the Australian Agricultural Company contracted her Father as shepherd. Her father died in 1852, when Mary was 12. Her Mother remarried 2 years later and they moved to Blanford near Murrurundi, New South Wales. Mary Jane lived with her parents until they died and continued to live with her brother on the farm 'Balmoral'. She never married, but had a daughter, Emily Agnes Hannaford who married George Cady in 1887. Mary Jane died in Blanford in 1930." [NGA]
"This coverlet is composed of two pieces of dark blue cheese cloth joined with a row of running stitches down the centre of the coverlet (the seam faces the front face of the coverlet but is hidden beneath a row of appliqué). The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery. As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm
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