Diverse Traditions: South Asian Quilts

South Asia is rich in quiltmaking traditions. Women have made quilts in this region for centuries and have used them in a multitude of ways: as bed covers, seating mats, tent panels, and dowry items. Varying techniques, color palettes, and formats can be found among different ethnic and regional groups, and certain styles can help identify where a quilt likely was made. In this group of Indian and Pakistani quilts from the International Quilt Museum’s Education Collection, we look at how the techniques of appliqué, piecing, and quilting are used among diverse South Asian communities.

June 8 - October 7, 2021
Beavers Terrace Gallery

Works in the Exhibition

Ralli (left)
Maker unidentified
Probably made in Cholistan, Punjab, Pakistan, 1950-2000
Cotton blend; hand appliquéd, pieced, embroidered, and quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation
2007.004.0005E

Ralli (right)
Maker unidentified
Probably made in Cholistan, Punjab, Pakistan, 1950-2000
Cotton; hand appliquéd, pieced, embroidered, and quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation
2008.027.0013E

What kind of environment and climate do you think these quilts were made in?

Both of these examples of South Asian appliqué are from the southern part of Pakistan’s Punjab Province, in the Cholistan Desert. It might be surprising that quilts are used in a desert, but nights can be quite cold in that environment. Also, quilts like these are used for more than simply keeping warm. They function as comfortable floor seating, children’s hammocks, doorway coverings, and home decor.

Quilts from the Cholistan Desert are known for a tan, brown, gold, and burgundy color palette that harmonizes with the arid and muted natural surroundings. Cholistani quiltmakers often combine areas of intricate appliqué with busy patchwork.

Godri (left)
Maker unidentified
Possibly made in Karnataka, India, circa 1970-1990
Cotton; hand foundation pieced/quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation
2007.002.0010E

Ralli (right)
Mrs. Meeran
Made in Ketlari, Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan, circa 1985
Hand appliquéd, embroidered, pieced, and quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation
2006.0001.0005E

Do you prefer ordered or haphazard patchwork?

With these two examples, you see one of each.

In the Thar Desert of eastern Pakistan, Mrs. Meeran, a member of the Meghwal ethnic group, used a variety of fabrics to piece her scrappy, yet well-ordered quilt. A few hundred miles away in Karnataka, India, an unidentified Siddi (African-Indian) maker created her improvisationally composed quilt with whatever fabrics she had at hand, including one featuring the globally famous Japanese cartoon character, Hello Kitty. Siddi women often make their quilts by laying fabric pieces with their edges turned under onto a quilt-sized foundation fabric and sewing them down with rows of running stitches. Usually, they start in one corner and work their way around in a spiral until they reach the middle. This approach is a hybrid of piecing, quilting, and appliqué.

Ralli (left)
Maker unidentified
Made in Lower Sindh, Pakistan, 1950-2000
Cotton; hand embroidered, pieced, and quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation
2016.012.0027E

Kantha (right)
Maker unidentified
Probably made in West Bengal, India, 1925-1975
Cotton; hand pieced, embroidered, and quilted
Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation 2006.027.0003E

Are these pieces quilted, woven, or embroidered?

That’s a bit of a trick question.

In the state of West Bengal, India, and the province of Sindh, Pakistan—over 1000 miles apart—many people make whole cloth quilts, which do not have any piecing or appliqué. Bengali women make their kantha quilts with old wrapped sari garments, which are traditionally white with a colorful woven border. They use plain white threads to apply simple running-stitch quilting to the background, but they pick apart and reuse the threads from the sari’s colored border to create more complex designs. These designs often imitate the woven structure of the original border itself.

Unlike Bengalis, the Saami people of Sindh, Pakistan usually choose a dark, often black background for their whole cloth quilts. They use an impressive array of decorative stitches to hold the layers together, meaning their embroidery also serves as the quilting.

Works in the Exhibition

Past

Event Date

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 to Thursday, October 7, 2021