Last Friday, Ellis, Chris, and i visited the American Folk Museum in Manhattan. It’s located on 2 Lincoln Square and it has free admission! The exhibit we saw was titled “War and Pieced” and it explored the beauty and complexities of the material remnants of war. The exhibit held many quilts of numerous colors and sizes but they all held one thing in common. All of the quilts had deep and meaningful imagery tied to numerous wars and battles. This exhibit featured quilts from the Prussian and Napoleonic era as well as some from the British Empire. They are from all over the world such as South Africa, India, Prussia, Austria, France, and Crimea. It’s extremely inspiring to see the symbols and feelings of the soldiers who laid down their lives during these violent conflicts.

My favorite piece by far was the main quilt which was huge! It was laid out in the center of the room in a huge glass display and was a quilt dedicated to the Holy Roman Empire Intarsia. It was used through 1846-1851 in Prussia and Austria. It was made of wool and hand embroidered. It depicts Charlottenburg Palace and was commissioned by Sophia Charlotte of Hanover. Another quilt I enjoyed was actually inlaid with a chessboard! Soldiers used it to play chess to keep themselves occupied in downtime during long wars. All in all, although some might think a quilt museum is strange but it is so interesting and fun! Their shop helps provide for the museum and I bought a really cute handmade blue elephant keychain for my mother! Ellis bought three pretty outdated weird books for $6 each and I really don’t know why. All in all this was an experience I’ll definitely remember, especially because of how awful and cringy our photo turned out! Also because I had no idea there was a museum for quilts. You really do learn something new everyday.