BACK TO QUILTS

Rivonia Trialists

CITE THIS QUILT

img
quilt

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

RELATED RECORDS