Liberian Quilt Exhibition
Handcrafted Quilts from the Bensonville Diaspora
The Liberian Settlers—the African Americans who immigrated to Liberia in the nineteenth century—took quiltmaking with them. Going on two centuries later, quiltmaking endures. In the community of Bensonville (also called Bentol), quilting is no longer something that only Settler women do. To quote quilting scholar Stephanie Beck Cohen, in places like Bensonville, Liberian practice “reflects a mixture of American and indigenous heritages.”
The quilters have set the price, and they will receive all of the amount, save shipping and handling, which goes towards the transportation of the quilts from Liberia to New York.
A caveat: the photos on this website generally fall short of capturing the vibrancy of the colors of the quilts, and they certainly do not embody the meticulous workmanship that is a hallmark of the Bensonville diaspora quilters.
Read more about Liberian Quilting
Examples of Quilts in the Exhibition
50” length 50” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $150
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $200
Maima Bracewell’s four-block quilt wins with its simplicity, alternating blocks with a pattern of salmon on navy with blocks of blue.The salmon-on-navy pattern is repeated in the border.
Maima is one of the mainstays of Waste Not, Inc., and an accomplished quilter. The Michigan State University Museum recently purchased two of her quilts for its permanent collection.
54” length 50” width
The quilt has cotton batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $175
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $225
This quilt is part of the Gold Metal Collection, a collaboration between quilt makers, a quilt making teacher, and quilt collectors and commissioned by John Singler.
Thelma and Florence Brown join their sister Maude Davis as the older generation of quiltmakers who lead Quageh. Thelma’s daughter Henrietta Brent is a member of the Bentol Quilting Association.
48” length 47” width
The quilt has cotton batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $175
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $225
When Maude Davis visited Ghana early in the 2000’s, she learned about the Ashanti adinkra symbols, artistic designs that capture proverbs and traditional wisdom and has incorporated them into her quilts. She is the founder and matriarch of Quageh in Caldwell, Liberia. She is widely acknowledged to be one of Liberia’s finest quilters. The International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, has acquired one of Maude’s quilts for its permanent collection.
108” length 88” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $550
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $675
Pineapple Bush appears to be a uniquely Liberian design, and Bernetta Flammah’s quilt is an outstanding example of the pattern. The bush itself is bright red and dark green. Bernetta has then surrounded the bush with bold borders of red, yellow, and dark hunter green. The backing of the quilt is a lush lemon yellow.
Bernetta joins Alice Daniels and Garmai Garmay as the stars of the Barnersville Quilting Association.
53” length 53” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $150
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $200
The Shoofly pattern dates to nineteenth-century African America. It has been associated with the Underground Railroad. Apparently, when it was displayed, it signalled that its owner was an ally and could be trusted.
A university graduate, Menephie Pennoh is Maude Davis’s eldest daughter and a gifted member of the Quageh.family.
97” length 94” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $500
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $625
Indiana Rose, a regional American variant of Whig Rose, dates to the 1840’s in the US. Classic Indiana Rose is red and green, but Josephine has given it new drama by making it maroon and green.
Josephine is a ward of Alice Bracewell and has grown up in Waste Not, Inc. A high school graduate, she is currently studying interior decoration.
100” length 95.5” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $500
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $625
As a teacher and administrator, Alice is tireless. She is a veteran quiltmaker and quilt making teacher. Her prowess as a quiltmaker and her commitment to teaching led Alice to establish Waste Not, Inc., Women and Girls Empowerment in Monrovia. Alice was then able to move the organization to its own center in Paynesville, adjacent to Monrovia. Alice is the past president of the National Quilting Association of Liberia, having led that organization for many years.
101” length 88.5” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $450
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $575
The Double Wedding Ring pattern entered American quilters’ repertoire in the 1920s, spreading later to Liberia. For the past century, it has been a popular pattern, but it is also an intricate one, demanding a skillful quiltmaker.
Garmai Garmay joins Alice Daniels and Bernetta Flammah as the stars of the Barnersville Quilting Association.
90” length 89.5” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $450
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $575
The Coffee Tree quilt is the most famous Liberian quilt pattern. It’s the one that Martha Ann Erskine Ricks presented to Queen Victoria. Originally identified with its creator, today the coffee tree quilt has also become associated with Maude.
Maude is the founder and matriarch of Quageh in Caldwell, Liberia. She is widely acknowledged to be one of Liberia’s finest quilters. The International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, acquired one of Maude’s quilts in its permanent collection.
51” length 45” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $150
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $200
“Big game” animals are popular themes for the quiltmakers in the Bensonville diaspora. There are no giraffes in Liberia, but the animal fascinates Liberians in the same way it does Americans.
Marco Bracewell is one of the leading lights of Waste Not, Inc. An accomplished quilter in her own right, Marco and her sister Maima have joined with their mother in training the next generation of quilters.
51” length 45” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $125
Shipping/Handling $ 50
Total cost $175
Even though tulips do not grow in Liberia, they are a popular theme for Liberian quilters. Is it because of the appeal of the tulip’s geometry?
Josephine is a ward of Alice Bracewell and has grown up in Waste Not, Inc. A high school graduate, she is currently studying interior decoration.
96” length 88” width
The quilt has polyester batting.
The quiltmaker’s price $475
Shipping/Handling $125
Total cost $600
The back of Diamonds got a few spots of discoloration in its journey to America. For that reason, the quiltmaker’s asking price has been reduced from $525 to $475.
Of all the quilters in the Bensonville diaspora, Alice Daniels has the widest range of themes for her quilts. Diamonds is but one example of her stylistic versatility.
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