The Tristan Quilt and the Guicciardini Quilt - a new English language publication.

Some time ago I wrote about a piece of very early needlework known to  its admirers as 'The Tristan Quilt', (or 'Bedcover'), and on display in the newly refurbished Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  This item has a 'sister' piece in the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence.  I have been contacted by the writer and textile historian Kathryn Berenson with news of a new English language translation of the Guicciardini Quilt Monograph which is a full study of the Bargello piece and contains information pertinent to the V&A piece.  

A section of the Guicciardini Quilt (click on image for larger view) 

Ms Berenson writes:

I write in reference to a new English-language title, The Guicciardini Quilt: Conservation of the deeds of Tristan, released December 2010 by Edifir, a publishing house in Florence, Italy. Editors are Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, Marco Ciatti, Susanna Conti, and Maria Grazia Vaccari. Translator: Diane Kunzelman. 

In brief, the Guicciardini Quilt, in the collection of the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence, and its sister piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, are two white linen quilted works that illustrate episodes from the Tristan legend.  They are the sole surviving quilted works in public institutions that date circa 1360-1400 and are attributed to an atelier in southern Italy.  As such, they are key pieces in understanding medieval interpretations of the quilted textile arts.  

The Guicciardini Quilt monograph includes a full study of the Bargello piece, information that is equally pertinent to the one in London. 

The Art-Historical section addresses the possible origin of the Guicciardini quilt, its subsequent provenance, materials, techniques used in its making, and theories as to its use and separation from its sister piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum.  A historical review covers the significance of the Tristan legend motifs and other iconography encountered in medieval textiles, and traces figurative white quilts to the medieval kingdom of Naples.  Contributors to this section include Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, Maria Grazia Vaccari, Maria Stragapede and Kathryn Berenson.

The Technical Section addresses the conservation project developed for this rare piece acarried out by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), the Italian national arts conservation laboratory. Conservators at the OPD studied the Guicciardini quilt extensively during their years of work and assembled a valuable trove of scholarly information. Innovative conservation techniques are presented in detail.  Contributors include Marco Ciatti, Susanna Conti, Pietro Capone, Francesca Parotti, Maria Stragapede, and Roberto Boddi, all of the OPD. 

Two replicas of the Tristan quilts are discussed in the final section. 

The V&A Tristan quilt is currently on exhibition in the museum’s medieval galleries.  The Guicciardini quilt was on exhibition April – June 2010, in Florence and has been returned to appropriate conservation storage.  A replica of it made by Silvana Vannini is on display at the Palazzo Davanzati, Florence.

The Guicciardini “Quilt” is a high quality 138 page paperback with 20 color and 40 black and white images, 150 pound interior stock and 300 pound cover stock; size 11 x 8.25 inches (ISBN 978-7970-493-9).  

Price 30€/£25/ US$45 plus shipping.  At present copies may be ordered from by contacting Kathryn  directly at kwberenson@aol.com. 

(The Italian-language edition, La Coperta Guicciardini: il restauro delle imprese di Tristano, was released by Edifir in April, 2010, in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name, ISBN 978-7970-467-0.)