Stoplap van veelkleurige zijde op katoen. 1875

Editor: This is "Stoplap van veelkleurige zijde op katoen" from 1875, made with mixed media, fiber art, weaving, and textile by Johanna Hendrika Scholtz. At first glance, the regular patterned surface evokes feelings of homespun comfort, but with an undeniable quirky complexity. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Quirky is the perfect word. It’s like a sampler quilt shouting its secrets rather than whispering them. Look at the repeating star motifs – each slightly off, a bit wonky. It's decorative, clearly, a part of that Pattern and Decoration movement thumbing its nose at high art's seriousness. And those initials embroidered around each star – they’re practically screaming! Do you feel the personality embedded in the making? Editor: I do! It's a visual record and the personality shines through. Is there a symbolism within the patterns and repetition of colours? Curator: Oh, definitely. Repetition is key. These quilts were often made as collaborative pieces – friendship quilts, if you will. Each person represented by a star, a square, their initials, bound together in cloth and thread. The regularity creates a sort of harmonic hum, while those minor variations within it speak volumes, you see? Perhaps each color, each pattern had a symbolic connection to the person who created it? The work speaks volumes even today. It is something of its time, but timeless as well! Editor: So it is about community and connections? It's both charming and powerful! Curator: Precisely! It's a tangible record of relationships, stitched together with skill and…a touch of subversive charm! The longer I look, the more I see. Editor: Me too. It makes you consider who touched this, cared about it, and contributed. Curator: It certainly does that! I keep thinking of whose hands once created it, who admired it back then and what their impression of this piece of woven art may have been!