Quilt
Date:
17th century
Culture:
Southern Europe
Medium:
Silk with cotton filling
Dimensions:
101.5 x 87 in (257.8 x 221 cm)
Classification:
Textiles
Credit Line:
Winterthur Museum, Gift of Henry Francis du Pont
Not on view
The three-masted ship at the center of this rare silk quilt celebrates Europe’s newfound mastery of the seas. Although it probably was made in a Mediterranean country, perhaps Italy, its overall design—a central image surrounded by hunting motifs (metaphors for power and conquest) and portrait medallions—relates to embroidered Bengali bedcovers
