Current Exhibitions
Seasonal Fashion: Springtime in Charleston
February 19 – April 15
In 2012, the Historic Textile Gallery will feature a rotating exhibit of Seasonal Fashions. Shake off the winter blues in late February with an early spring Garden Party featuring elegant white dresses from the early 1900s, batiks by Anna Heyward Taylor and other floral textile delights.
Botanical Quilts: Chintz Appliqué in the 19th Century
November 5, 2011 – April 22, 2012
Historic Textiles Gallery
Charleston has a long and venerable quilt making history. One of the most stunning techniques,broderie perse or chintz appliqué, consisted of fabulous floral and botanical printed fabrics imported from India, England and Europe. The quilt was made by cutting up these luxurious textiles and then reapplying the motifs to a larger fabric, carefully stitching around each element. Quiltmakers could create a stunning tree of life, a graceful floral basket or an album quilt of many different designs. Botanical Quilts examines the many different botanically-inspired quilts that graced the beds of Lowcountry residents throughout the 19th century.
Coat Check
November 12, 2011 – March 4, 2012
Historic Textiles Gallery
Just in time for cooler weather, Coat Check will display of historic outerwear – coats, capes, cloaks, shawls, jackets – worn in Charleston in the past 200 years. From fur coats to delicate embroidered shawls, these garments were the finishing touch on a fashionable outfit. Even in the moderate Lowcountry climate, the winter months required a warm cover-up and fall or spring evenings might have needed a lighter wrap. Coat Check explores men’s, women’s and children’s outerwear with an eye to fashion as well as practicality.
Blasted: Assorted Projectiles and Explosives of the Civil War
January 9 – September 10, 2012
Lobby Exhibit
Continuing its commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the Charleston Museum presents Blasted: Assorted Projectiles and Explosives of the Civil War. This original exhibition explores the varied and sometimes revolutionary artillery shells and small arms projectiles that were used during this country’s defining conflict. Artifacts on exhibit include a rare Quinlivan shot designed to penetrate Federal ironclads and a two-chambered incendiary shell likely intended for use in Charleston’s defense.
Fashion Plates: Illustrating History's Latest Styles, 1760-1920s
November 19, 2011 - May 6, 2012
Historic Textiles Gallery
Once the most important resource for current styles, fashion plates are now a valuable source for historic research. These plates appeared in many publications, such as Godey's Lady's Book, La Belle Assemblée, Les Modes Parisiennes and Ackermann's Repository of Arts among others. Essentially, fashion plates did not exist before the French Revolution began in 1789, though the Museum does have several rare hand-tinted fashion illustrations dating to the 1760s. It has been suggested that the sudden influx of French influence - as aristocrats rushed to escape the Revolution - catapulted the art of fashion designing and especially the production of fashion plates into a thriving business. For many years, these images would be the arbiters of elegance. Dress makers or even amateur home-sewers would use the illustration as their guide; dress patterns were not widely available until the latter half of the 19th century.
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