Virginia Mason Ivey
American, born 1828
Logan County, Kentucky
Quilt, about 1860
Cotton, wool
102 1/4 × 85 1/2 × 1/2 in. (259.7 × 217.2 × 1.3 cm.)
Purchased for the museum through the efforts of the Kentucky Quilt Project, Shelly Zegart, Eleanor Bingham Miller and Jonathan Holstein, and through the generosity of the Bingham Enterprises Foundation of Kentucky, Incorporated, and several anonymous donors  1986.12

Quilted Henry Clay
Look closely at Virginia Ivey’s quilt and you will see raised images of flowers, farm animals, and even a statue. Ivey copied the depiction of the statue from an engraving published in Harper’s Magazine. The actual statue of Clay was erected in 1859 in New Orleans, where it still stands. Ivey’s magnificent quilt, like many surviving fancy quilts, was made for display rather than day-to-day use.