Feature Articles

October Issue 2002

Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, Offers Quilt Show and Symposium

The Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, will host an original exhibition entitled, Mosaic Quilts: Paper Template Piecing in the Lowcountry. The quilt exhibit will run from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2002. The mosaic quilts, specifically paper template pieced quilts, from the Museum's collection range from one of the earliest known American examples (c. 1810s) to a late Victorian era (c.1900) quilt. Numerous programs for adults and children will accompany the exhibition, as well as a full-color exhibit catalogue available through the Museum Gift Shop.

Mosaic Quilts will feature approximately thirty mosaics and accessories made in Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry. Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles at The Charleston Museum, believes the exhibit has two significant attributes. "The collection and exhibition feature an unprecedented number of quilts made with the paper pieced or English patchwork technique," says Hiester. This is due in great part to the fact that Charleston women continued to use this technique long after it had gone out of fashion in other regions of the country, resulting in more mosaic quilts in the community. Also exceptional in the Museum's mosaic quilt collection are the chintz borders and central medallions apparently unique to Lowcountry quilts of the nineteenth century.

Noted quilt historian Laurel Horton asserts, "When I first saw the quilts in the Charleston Museum collection in 1984, I was struck by the number and variety of the mosaic patchwork pieces. At that time, quilt researchers were just beginning to be aware of the popularity of this technique in the mid-19th century. And, although a lot of museums have examples of mosaic quilts in their collections, it's surprising that no one has really done additional research in the last fifteen years. The exhibition, catalog, and symposium sponsored by The Charleston Museum are the first efforts to focus attention on the unique development of mosaic template quilts."

The Charleston Museum Institute will offer a companion symposium, Mosaic Quilts: Paper Template Piecing in South Carolina, on Nov. 8-10, 2002. The symposium will trace the development of this distinctive technique back to the early nineteenth century by offering lectures on mosaic quilt history, textile dating, conservation, collecting, and the Museum quilt collection, as well as a hands-on technical workshop. According to symposium presenter Laurel Horton, "The symposium will provide an opportunity for researchers and others to take a closer look at this technique. There are many questions about mosaic patchwork, and I don't expect that we'll come up with easy answers. What I hope is that this symposium will help us identify what we know and what we need to know so that we can carry out additional research in the future." Call 843/722-2996, ext. 235 to request a brochure. Other Museum programs associated with Mosaic Quilts include the monthly family program, Second Saturday, with the theme of "Historic Crafts" to take place Nov. 9, 2002. The Museum will offer quilting classes to suit all skill levels and both adults and children throughout the exhibition.

For more info check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call 843/722-2996, or on the web at (www.charlestonmuseum.org).

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