James Williams’ 1852 Patchwork and a Chinese Pagoda

Managed to catch the last day of the British Folk Art exhibition at the Tate Galley (sorry – but the exhibition is going travelling apparently) and, naturally, a few things ChinaRhyming popped up worth a mention. Today, a patchwork bedcover made, with 4,525 pieces of cloth, by James Williams of Wrexham between 1842 and 1852. The work – made from well over 4,000 separate pieces of cloth – is a combination of Biblical scenes and North Wales landmarks, including the Menai Suspension Bridge and the then-new Cefn viaduct. Additionally the patchwork (and in the nineteenth century patchworks were often the work of men rather than women) reflects the arrival of new goods and ideas in Britain – hence the palm trees and the Chinese pagoda in the upper right corner.