The sixteen quilts in
Mary
Black's collection were made between about 1850 and 1917. Mary's quilts
included both revered relics and ordinary patchwork. Over time however,
all the quilts grew in importance as reminders of family identity and
the reciprocal obligations of kinship. The language and traffic of quilts
circulated in the private sphere among women, who recycled dresses, shared
patterns, and paid other women to piece and to quilt. Quilts and household
heirlooms served to commemorate and reinforce the private, domestic relationships
important to women.
Click on each highlighted name to learn more about each family member.
