COVERING YOUR BASES: CARE FOR QUILTS IN TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS
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Authors
King, Rebecca M.
Issue Date
2002
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The story of the quilt is long, with origins in Egypt. Mongolia, India and Europe all contributed to the development of quilt-making until it came to the United States in the eighteenth century. Generations of women have made quilts as bedcovers, as gifts of love, and more recently, as works of art. Quilts have been collected by museums for many years, but have only been displayed as works of art since 1971. That year marks the first exhibition of quilts in a major art museum in the United States. Since then, quilts have been increasingly collected by museums, in addition to being developed into traveling exhibitions. Although the quilt I discovered in Novato probably could not be conserved, and certainly would never be part of a traveling exhibit, I began to wonder about an even larger issue—the number of traveling exhibitions of quilts is increasing. What can museums do to prevent damage to quilts in these traveling exhibitions? Are quilts exposed to unique dangers when traveling and how can they be protected from damage? In addition, which packing and shipping techniques are essential in preserving quilts in traveling exhibitions?