 Amber Necklace |
 Gin Glass |
 Neck Ornament |
 Irish Lady's Tresses Orchid |
 The Lennox Quilt |
 Fossil Crinoids |
 Madonna and Child |
 A Red Alga |
 Irish Wolfhound |
 Coates Family Photograph |
 Chinese Ivory Puzzle Ball |
 Early Medieval Tomb-shaped Shrine |
 The Green Coat, Sir John Lavery |
 Juvenile Bald Eagle |
The Lennox Quilt
Belfast, 1712
Purchased
Accession number: T1
Length 1850 mm; Breadth 2010 mm
The Lennox Quilt is our oldest textile piece and one of the most beautiful. It is of cream linen, quilted with tiny backstitches, and embroidered in brilliant colours. In the floral design, typical of its date, English naturalistic detail combines with Indian influence, derived from the popular contemporary imported chintzes. It is signed and dated by its maker, Martha Lennox. She was the daughter of John Hamilton, the first Sovereign, or Mayor, of Belfast; she married Robert Lennox in 1702 and died in 1729.
The quilt was made as part of a set, probably for the birth of Martha Lennox's elder daughter, Elizabeth. In 1800, the quilt was mentioned by Martha McTier, Elizabeth's neice, in a letter to her brother, William Drennan. She was shown '... a very valuable and curious quilt wrought by her grandmother and which was the wonder of its day near a hundred years ago - the coloured silks it is wrought in cost 30. This same quilt ... given to me ... to do with as I chose so it did not go out of the family. ...'
The Lennox Quilt, treasured since it was first made, still gives pleasure to all who see it.
Comment
Elizabeth McCrum, retired Keeper of Applied Art
As household linen, the quilt passed through the female line, so it has been in the possession of many of the old families of Belfast. Its provenance and age alone make it a very significant specimen. However, I choose the quilt for its beauty. It is a work of art which appeals to and impresses everyone who sees it. Luckily, the quilt was on display in the Ulster Museum in 1976 when the building which housed the costume and textile collection was was bombed - and so it is the only important piece to survive from the original collection.
