Floral Motifs on Early Chintz
Passiflora sp. (Stylized) - Stylized Passion Flower
Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) from the Private Collection of Dawn Cook Ronningen, Mourning Apron with Printed Cotton Skirt and Black Silk Ties, c. 1830s. Photo by Dawn Cook Ronningen.
Passiflora sp. (Passion Flower) from Florida Memory / Public Domain
Passiflora misera (published as Passiflora vespertilio) (Bat-Leaf Passion Flower) from Joannis Martyn, Historia plantarum rariorum, plate 50, 1728
Common Names: Passion Flower
Description: Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) is a member of the Passion Flower Family (Passifloraceae). The Hortus Kewensis, ed. 2, vol. 4 recorded twenty-eight species of Passion Flower native to the West Indies, Jamaica, Bahamas, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Brazil, Martinique, Curassao, Cayenne, New Calidonia & Norfolk Island, Virginia, and America. Today we recognize around 550 species, mainly from tropical regions of the new world, but with a few species from Asia, the United States, and Oceania. The large number of species and artistic license tends to make most illustrations of passion flowers on textiles extremely difficult to recognize as specific species. In the case of the examples here, artistic license has stripped the flower down in various ways such that the designer was clearly trying to capture the essence of passion flowers rather than to provide a picture of an actual plant.
Printed cottons with the Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif illustrated above:
Description: Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) is a member of the Passion Flower Family (Passifloraceae). The Hortus Kewensis, ed. 2, vol. 4 recorded twenty-eight species of Passion Flower native to the West Indies, Jamaica, Bahamas, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Brazil, Martinique, Curassao, Cayenne, New Calidonia & Norfolk Island, Virginia, and America. Today we recognize around 550 species, mainly from tropical regions of the new world, but with a few species from Asia, the United States, and Oceania. The large number of species and artistic license tends to make most illustrations of passion flowers on textiles extremely difficult to recognize as specific species. In the case of the examples here, artistic license has stripped the flower down in various ways such that the designer was clearly trying to capture the essence of passion flowers rather than to provide a picture of an actual plant.
Printed cottons with the Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif illustrated above:
- Private Collection of Dawn Cook Ronningen, Mourning Apron with Printed Cotton Skirt and Black Silk Ties, c. 1830s
Additional Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) Motifs
Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) from the Private Collection of Dawn Cook Ronningen, Fabric Fragment, c. 1840. Photo by Dawn Cook Ronningen.
Printed cottons with this Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif:
- Private Collection of Dawn Cook Ronningen, Fabric Fragment, c. 1840.
- Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Printed Textile, Object Number 1958.0074.001, Printed Textiles: British and American Cottons and Linens, 1700-1850, p. 247, 1800-1810
Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) from the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Fish Family Chintz Album Quilt, dated 1843
Quilts with this Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif:
- Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Fish Family Chintz Album Quilt, Object Number 5254, dated 1843
- Ardis and Robert James Collection, International Quilt Museum, Flower Basket Quilt Probably Made by Susan Prichard Kirkwood, Object Number 2008.009.0001, Chintz Applique: from Imitation to Icon, p. 22, Plate 6, dated 1837
More Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) Motifs
(No pictures available at this time)
(No pictures available at this time)
Quilts, each different, with a Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif:
- Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Amelia Lauck Quilt, Object Number 87.50, Quilts of Virginia: 1607-1899, p.73, dated 1823
- Shelburne Museum, Floral Chintz Album Bedcover Made by Members of the Townsend, Fuller, Pope, and Mikell Families, Object Number 10-151 (1954-412), Art of the Needle: 100 Masterpiece Quilts from the Shelburne Museum, p. 19, dated 1850-1857
Printed cotton with a different Passiflora sp. Stylized (Stylized Passion Flower) motif from those above:
- Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Printed Textile, Object Number 1969.3178.002, Printed Textiles: British and American Cottons and Linens, 1700-1850, p. 248, c 1816
© Updated 5/17/2020 Author: Terry Terrell