Author(s): National Gallery of Australia

General Art

One of the world's most important textiles, The Rajah quilt is a major focus of the National Gallery of Australia's textiles collection. The quilt was made by women convicts on board the ship Rajah while being transported from England to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1841. While it is a compelling document of convict life, it is also an extraordinary work of art-a product of beauty from the hands of many women who, in the most abject circumstances, were able to work together to produce an object of hope.