Palampore Tree of Life Quilt

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This boldly graphic quilt was constructed in America in the early nineteenth century, using fabrics that originated in India (the center panel and inner swag borders) and England (the outer floral chintz borders). The center panel is a “palampore”—an Indian hand-painted hanging of a stylized Tree of Life. The “T” outline of the piece, shaped to fit around bedposts, is typical of quilts made in New England. Many New England merchants were involved with direct trade with India and China during the period this quilt was made, and it is likely that owning a quilt featuring a palampore was considered highly fashionable, signaling sophistication and knowledge of far-flung lands.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art