Imari Quilt

This cross-stitch quilt was created from a Herrschner’s kit that was produced in the 1960s, but the Rankins did not complete it until 1984. The name for the quilt, Imari, derives from the Western term for a type of Japanese export porcelain. Imari ceramics are brightly colored in reds, golds, and blues and have very distinctive geometric patterns mixed with patterns from nature.

Many Imari plates have scalloped edging, and the blue scrolls of border stitching imitate that effect. The center motif of the quilt includes 12 squares, three across and four down. Each of the squares imitates a distinctive shape of Imari ware, the octagon. Looked at individually they appear like so many porcelain dishes.

At the center of each plate is a stylized flower, possibly a chrysanthemum, rendered in red, gold, pink and brown. These flowers are emphasized with a scrolled blue frame. The rims of the plates are filled with either a blue fish scale or yellow diamond shaped pattern. Fish scaling, in blue thread, borders the entire central motif of the quilt as well.

The Rankins had a close connection to the Asian community in Champaign County and this may have been inspired by that connection. Later 20th century quilts often imitated ceramic patterns, as we can see in other quilts in this collection, e.g., the Violets and Dutch Sampler quilts.