The Grim Work of Death

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A large appliqué textile work depicting Nat Turner's life and rebellion of enslaved persons in Virginia in August 1831. The work consists of a single, long, rectangular panel, handsewn with pieces of appliquéd fabrics creating colorful and curving figures and imagery against a red, floral print background. The appliqué pieces include a variety of textiles, some solid colors and some with printed or woven design patterns. The imagery on the left depicts enslaved figures weilding farm tools, axes, picks, and hammers along with a leaping blue bull and a running white horse. Along the top, black and white figures battle each other, with their feet at the top edge and their heads towards the center. At center, a figure is presented in bands of dark brown and red stripes, wearing a band of printed blue fabric with a yellow tie at his waist.

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