QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-6428
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Human Rights; The Black Diaspora Quilt History Project
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
14.0041
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
2014:24.2
Essay:
This is a duplicate, made in 2014, of one also commissioned in 2014 from artists and sisters Phina Nkosi and Vangile Zulu of Soweto, South Africa by Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst as a present from MSU to Ahmed Kathrada on the occasion of his 85th birthday, August 26, 2014. The two women have, as of 2014, worked together at two sewing machines in a small rented space in the High Court Building at the corner of Fox and Joubert Street in Johannesburg. Prior to that they were affiliated with the Zamani Sewing Group, an economic development activity, located in Soweto.
At the Rivonia Trial (named for the farm where most of the accused were caught) the defendants were ANC leaders accused of treason against the South African government. The Trialists included Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsolaledi, Ahmed Kathrada, Billy Nair, Denis Goldberg, Lionel Bernstein, Bob Hepple, Arthur Goldreich, Harold Wolpe, and James Kantor. All but Nair and Hepple are depicted on the quilt.
Goldberg, Bernstein, Hepple, Wolpe, Kantor and Goldreich were white Jews, Kathrada and Nair were Indian, and Sisulu, Mbeki, Motsoaledi and Mhlaba were Xhosa, while Sisulu had a Xhosa mother and a white father. Goldreich and Wolpe escaped from prison. [from Wikipedia, November 2014]
Two of the trialists are not pictured in this quilt. The two artists, used a poster produced by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation that commemorated the Trial as a source of the images they used on the quilt. The poster
Wolpe has a connection to Michigan. His relative, Harold Wolpe, was a US representative and a strong anti-apartheid worker.
Quilt's title:
Rivonia Trialists
Subject of the quilt:
Quilts and Human Rights
Biography of the quiltmaker?
Phina Nkosi is affiliated with the Zamani Quilting Sisters, a coop that is based in Soweto, South Africa. More about the Zamani Quilting Sisters can be found at: http://www.polity.org.za/html/people/kuzwayo_nek.html?rebookmark=1Zamani Soweto Sisters
When was the form filled out?
11/18/2014
Quilt top made by:
Nkosi, Fina; Zulu, Vangile
Quilted by:
Nkosi, Fina; Zulu, Vangile
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Purchased the quilt
Where the quilt was made, city:
Soweto
Where the quilt was made, country:
South Africa
Time period:
2000-2025
When was the quilt started?
2014
When was the quilt finished?
2014
Why was the quilt made?
Personal income
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's country:
South Africa
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
67"
How long is the quilt?
73"
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Beige or Tan; Black; Blue; Brown; Cream
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
Type of inscription:
Multiple Names
Method used to make the inscription:
Attached label
Location of inscription:
on block
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
12
Size of quilt blocks:
11" x 11"
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Separated by plain sashing
Sashing width:
3"
Number of borders:
3
Describe the borders:
3 1/2”, 3 1/2”, 3 1/2”
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton or polyester blend
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Piecing
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Applique
Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:
Ink drawing
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
4
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
4
Quilting designs used, background fills:
Parallel lines
Source of the information on this quilt:
Museum employee
Ownership of this quilt is:
Public- Michigan State University Museum
Quilt owner's name:
Michigan State University Museum
Quilt owner's city:
East Lansing
Quilt owner's county:
Ingham
Quilt owner's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Purchase
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
The quilt was made to be used for:
Artwork/wall hanging
Who photographed this quilt?
Pearl Yee Wong
Copyright holder:
MSU Board of Trustees
Cite this Quilt
Nkosi, Fina; Zulu, Vangil. Rivonia Trialists. 2014. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Human Rights; The Black Diaspora Quilt History Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-6428. Accessed: 03/29/24
-
Collection
International Collection from the Mich...
MacDowell, Marsha