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Janaury Issue 2003
The Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, Extends Date of Quilt Exhibition
The Charleston Museum is pleased to announce the extension of the special exhibition Mosaic Quilts: Paper Template Piecing in the Lowcountry through Feb. 23, 2003 due to its overwhelming popularity. 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.
Mosaic Quilts features approximately thirty mosaics and accessories made in Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry. Quilts occupy an important place in the history of textiles in America. Made not only as warmth-giving utilitarian objects but as artistic achievements, quilts can tell us a lot about the women that made them. More often perhaps, these quilts represent an artistic endeavor by an adult woman, attempting to display her needle skills and create fashionable home accessories. Mosaic or template-pieced quilts follow a long-standing English tradition, but with a decidedly American twist. Bits of fabric saved from cherished garments or other quilts were sewn together in a dizzying array of colors and designs. By taking a single consistent shape, such as a hexagon, and connecting it with precision and planning, other patterns emerge. From the bold to the delicate, these intricately constructed textiles delight the eye through a myriad of forms and colors.
The paper template method of quilt assembly was well known in 18th century England. As with many cultural traditions, English tastes and practices were readily adopted in the new nation. Brought with immigrants themselves or adapted from published sources such as ladies' magazines, plans for template piecing were apparently enthusiastically accepted in South Carolina early in the 19th century. This technique appears to have been a popular choice for Charleston needleworkers from the early 1800s and may have come with the many settlers immigrating directly from England. In some cases, the paper templates were never removed, leaving behind an intriguing array of documentary fragments. Any and all kinds of paper could be recycled as template material: newspapers, copy books, sheet music, advertising flyers, ledgers and letters. These are often tantalizing clues to the maker's history and can sometimes be quite helpful in dating the sewn piece.
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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