Philadelphia Pavement Quilt with Zig Zag Border: Circa 1880

This maker of this Philadelphia Pavement quilt designed it some 100 years before the Op Art movement came into being. Somehow, in the tiny, remote village of Bowmansville, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County, she had a vision of what was to come. She worked with a traditional Philadelphia Pavement quilt pattern and fashioned it with vibrant colors that make it pulsate. The use of entirely solid colors contributes to the effect as well as the fact that she placed red and green next to one another. She effectively created a diagonal grid with intersections of Puss in the Corner. The zig zag border is the perfect frame for this dynamic quilt. The backing consists of red and green Bars. The quilt is in excellent, unwashed condition. Measurements are 88" x 91"; made circa 1880.