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Unknown Maker, Indian

Marriage Quilt (Colcha)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Indian

Culture

Indian, or, Portuguese

Title

Marriage Quilt (Colcha)

Year

1700s

Medium

  • Silk plain weave with silk chain-stitch embroidery

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Silk plain weave with silk chain-stitch embroidery

Materials

silk

Geography

Place Made: Portugal

Dimensions

Length: 271.8 cm (107 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Label: On back, sewn to lining: Tag reading: Ministerio da Educacao Nacional; Inv. no. 31 c.v.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

1996.99

Type

  • Textiles

Publications

  • Books

Selected Works

Exhibition History

“Insnared with flowers, I fall on grass"
Jun 10, 2014 – Mar 08, 2015

Label copy

With the establishment of its colonial trade center in Goa, India, in the early 16th century, Portugal was flooded with imported Indian luxury textiles, which left a distinct mark on furnishings such as this marriage quilt, or colcha. Abounding with painstakingly embroidered carnations and scrolling vines on a silk ground, it was either made in India for the Portuguese market or crafted in Portugal as a version of the Indian originals. The artisans who made this piece substituted the carnation-a flower indigenous to the Mediterranean-for a lotus-blossom motif that would have been more familiar to the Asian market.

Recent Acquisitions
Inclusive and Diverse
Feb 18, 2000 – Apr 16, 2000

Label copy

Once in a while, the Museum has the opportunity to purchase a masterpiece of great beauty. This 18th-century quilt, embroidered by women either in Portugal or in India for the Portuguese market, is just such an object. Quilts had been popular in Portugal since the 16th century, but the 18th century was the "golden age" of these embroideries. They were indispensable items in a bride's trousseau at all social levels, and examples exist from both rural and urban Portugal. This coverlet is of great elegance, made in silk instead of the more commonly used linen.

RISD's quilt is especially important because its source is known: it came from the collection of Portuguese Comandante Ernesto Vilhena, which was formed in the mid-20th century and sold in 1995. Several colchas from this collection are in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition to its beauty, the coverlet gives an insight into the lives of Portuguese women in the 18th century, whose descendents are numerous in our own community today.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Indian
Marriage Quilt (Colcha), 1700s
Silk plain weave with silk chain-stitch embroidery
Length: 271.8 cm (107 inches)
Jesse Metcalf Fund 1996.99

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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