The Rajah quilt up close

Made by a group of women prisoners on board the HMS Rajah convict ship, The Rajah quilt is both a work of great historically significance and an extraordinary work of art produced by the hands of many women.
Watch Simeran Maxwell (Curator of A Century of Quilts) and Debbie Ward (Head of Conservation) in conversation with Georgia Stynes from ABC Canberra for a unique opportunity to discuss The Rajah quilt.
Simeran and Debbie share the history and techniques of this significant quilt, as well as a behind the scenes look at the details of the work, including the back of the textile and the hidden details discovered during conservation treatment.
A Century of Quilts is on display at the National Gallery, 16 Mar - 25 Aug 2024.
'To the ladies of the convict ship committee, this quilt worked by the convicts of the ship Rajah during their voyage to van Dieman’s Land is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions for their welfare while in England and during their passage and also as a proof that they have not neglected the ladies kind admonitions of being industrious.'
stitched inscription on The Rajah quilt 1841