<I>Courthouse Steps</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1960-1969
name: label: Created by
content: Martha Jane Pettway, American, 1898 - 2003
label: Subject of
content: The Hershey Company, American, founded 1894
label: Owned by
content: John David Scully, American
notes: label: Description
content: A quilt titled, "Courthouse Steps," created by Martha Jane Pettway of Gee's Bend, Alabama. The red wool and undyed white cotton quilt is sewn with a Courthouse Steps block. The blocks feature a red center with six strips stacked on top of each other, with the longest strips in the middle and each set getting shorter to create a step design that gives the block its name. There are five complete blocks on the quilt. The top left and all three right side blocks are half the motif. The bottom left of the quilt features four half motif blocks that surround one complete motif block. The blocks are bordered by a single layer of strips of the red wools and undyed white cotton. It is hand quilted in off-white thread that is sewn in a curvilinear pattern.
label: Description
content: The quilt is backed with a solid off-white plain-weave cotton. A casing of off-white plain-weave cotton is hand sewn along the back top that holds a display rod (b). At the center of the bottom edge of the quilt backing is faded printed blue text that reads [GRANULATED / MADE BY / HERSHEY CORPORATION / CENTRAL HERSHEY / CUBA]. In the bottom right corner is additional faded blue ink text that reads [3-58].
place: label: Place made
content: Boykin, Wilcox County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Craftsmanship
label: Topic
content: Rural life
label: Topic
content: Textile design
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
label: Classification
content: Textiles and Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2023.65
objectType: label: Type
content: quilts
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Martha Jane Pettway
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton, synthetic, and wool
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (2023.65a): 77 × 70 in. (195.6 × 177.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (2023.65b): 2 × 68 1/2 × 11/16 in. (5.1 × 174 × 1.7 cm)