Touring exhibition: Quilts 1700-2010

Exhibition available to hire

Quilts are evocative symbols of our collective past – stimulating our earliest memories of security and comfort and awakening the senses through touch and smell. They resonate with historical and cultural references which challenge the assumption that stitching is simply 'women's work'. The exhibition explores the personal and social histories embedded in both highly decorative and homemade bed covers which reveal the maker's complex engagement with the wider world. Showcasing the V&A's stunning collection and exploring over 300 years of British quiltmaking, every quilt has a hidden history: an unspoken story which is concealed within its layers.

Size: Approx 900m²
Available from Autumn 2013

For further information about this exhibition please contact touringexhibitions@vam.ac.uk

Natasha Kerr, At the End of the Day

Natasha Kerr, At the End of the Day, linen, London, 2007, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

Applique coverlet, cotton

Applique coverlet, cotton, Britain, about 1851, T.86-1957, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

Inlaid patchwork cover or hanging, wool

Inlaid patchwork cover or hanging, wool, Britain, 1856-69, Circ.114-1962, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

Patchwork bed hangings, cotton

Patchwork bed hangings, cotton, England, 1730-50, 242:A-F-1908, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

Quilted patchwork bed cover, England

Quilted patchwork bed cover, England, 1690-1720, T.201-1984, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum

Quilted patchwork bed cover, cotton

Quilted patchwork bed cover, cotton, Northumberland, 1910-20, T.255-1979, © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum