DETAILS OF THE TRISTAN QUILT :

Dimensions: Height: 320 cm, Width: 287 cm

Place of Origin: Sicily, Italy

Date: 1360-1400

Displayed: Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England 

Materials: Linen, linen thread

HISTORY:

The Tristan quilt , sometimes called the Tristan and Isolde quilt , is one of the earliest surviving quilts in the world .Depicting scenes from the story of Tristan and Isolde , an influential romance and tragedy filled with wars and survivals , it was made it Sicily during the second half of the 13th century .There are at least two sections of the quilt , one of which is displayed in the Victoria and Albert museum .Medieval and renaissance galleries , and the other in bargello in Florence . A third quilt , also depicting Tristan and Isolde , but not thought to be a part of the V and A and bargello examples , is held in private hands .The Tristan quilts are the only known surviving examples of the medieval quilts.

MATERIAL :

The quilt is made from two layers of linen , stitched together without wading in between .A series of pictures with captions have been brought to relief by inserting rolls of cotton stuffing to raise sections of design , a technique known as trapunto.

SUBJECT:

The imagery on the quilt is based upon chapters, La Tavola Rotonda o L'Istoria di Tristano which describes the oppression of Cornwall, and the battle of Tristan on behalf of King Cornwall, The foliage on the quilt includes ivy and grapevine, a reference to the plants that grew and intertwined from the tombs of the doomed Tristan and Isolde. The scenes on the V&A quilt are not in their original order, having been re-arranged at some point. Each scene has a caption in Sicilian dialect.

The scenes depicted on the quilt are figurative and have characters performing their roles.The story is in 14 scenes , and tells the oppression of lord Cornwall and Tristan ultimate victory with the latter on behalf of his uncle King mark.

CONCEPT :

On studying the Tristan quilt in detail these were the following points that i inferred :

- direct depiction

- figurative

-strong characters

 I wanted to depict in a way in order to open up a new perspective of looking at the Tristan quilt in a more wide and abstract way.I have used the same concept / story behind the making of the quilt .and the depiction on it but used a different technique to construct it .

 I have used colors like deep blues , greens , indigo and black to intensify it and give it the look / feel of  the arrival and departure of a war. I used the tie and dye technique to bring out the required patterns  that i could relate to the required historic situation.I have focussed on the use of color , pattern and texture to depict the concept behind the quilt