African-American Quilts

Black History Month is here, and for the United States and Canada this is an annual observance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. And, as many textile enthusiasts will know already, many African-American women such as Dora Smith, Susannah Allen Hunter and Anna 'Jane' Parker are known as some of the world's most exquisite quilters – a craft almost as old as America itself.

On plantations and in wealthy households prior to the Civil War, slave owners often used black women for spinning, weaving and sewing quilts that were almost exclusively made for upper class white people. Unsurprisingly, African-American women became greatly skilled quilters, never fully acknowledged for their craft until after slavery was abolished in America in 1865.

Little time was left in the day for these women to create their own textiles, nor did they have their own materials. Because of this, not much remains today of what a truly African-American quilt (made for an African-American owner) looks like. After the civil war, when many black women worked in households and small farms, quilts were made out of necessity from whatever scrap material could be found close to hand, including discarded clothing and feed sacks.

As industrialisation took hold of America in the 20th century, more and more opportunities arose in cities, meaning that many black women now had the time to create quilts purely for pleasure. For such a skilled community, these quilters made works that were no more distinguishable than any other's. As ever, people took on trends and influences that were popular at the time, and now even today historians continue to search these quilts for clues as to their heritage. Many African-American quilters, for example, used string quilting; a method popular among poorer women who wanted to use their fabric efficiently.

As a result of these ambiguous provenances, contemporary African-American quilters are now making conscious decisions to include aspects of their heritage into their work; be it colour, figure or fabric. Being Black History Month, there's no better time to admire this bold and beautiful work, and for those in the state of Virginia, you can now see these quilts for yourself in A Century of African-American Quilts, open until May 2018.