Touring Exhibition: Quilts 1700-1945

Detail of printed cotton appliqué coverlet showing Hiram Power's 'Greek Slave', maker unknown, about 1851. Museum no. T.86-1957, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Exhibition available to hire

This ground-breaking exhibition explores 250 years of British patchwork and quilt making, and it follows a blockbuster showing at the V&A in 2010. Spectacular quilts and bed hangings, drawn from the V&A’s collections, are assembled together with oral history narratives which explore the personal and social histories embedded in both highly decorative and homemade bed covers, revealing the maker’s complex engagement with the wider world. The exhibition also examines the emergence of distinct patterns, the use of materials and working practices, and textile trade and production.

Size: 700 m2
Available from 2013

Detail from an embroidered silk, satin and velvet patchwork coverlet

Detail from an embroidered silk, satin and, velvet patchwork coverlet
Signed 'NS'
About 1705
Museum no. 1475-1902
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Central section from a military quilt by Francis Brayley

Central section from a military quilt of pieced wool hexagons
Made by Francis Brayley
1864-77
Museum no. T.58-2007
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Central section from a printed cotton, patchwork coverlet showing King George III reviewing the troops

Central section from a printed cotton, patchwork coverlet showing King George III reviewing the troops
Maker unknown
1803-05
Museum no. T.9-1962
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London