The Florentine Quilt

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The Times , 30 October 2025

‘ An exciting discovery was made last month when a medieval quilt was found inside a bank vault removed after the closure of the Post Office Savings Bank in 1963. The building housed the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum until 2018, when it became home to the museum’s Clothworkers ’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion .

Boothby and Son , a demolition and salvage company, were hired to strip away bank counters, safes and vaults and then store them at the company’s Walton -on- Thames site for disposal. It is believed Mr Boothby senior retained the bank vault for resale at a later date. Some fifty years after his death, his grandson, Mr Peter Boothby , was clearing the property following the recent sale of the business when he made the remarkable find.

The quilt is well preserved and was sealed in a deposit box inside the vault after 1890. It is confirmed as part of a medieval commission by an influential Florentine family that includes the Tristan Quilt , exhibited at the V & A , and a ‘sister’ quilt known as the Coperta di Usella , held in the archives of the Bargello Museum in Florence . The find has enthused textile historians worldwide. It was previously believed the third piece had not survived.

Made in Sicily , the fourteenth-century textiles feature panels depicting Tristan of Lyonesse , the famous knight of Arthurian tales. Remarkably , the quilt found by Boothby is the only one depicting his lover, Isolde , with a central motif of the couple in a love scene.

A letter found enclosed with the quilt refers to a mysterious ‘ Isabella ’. Additional names are omitted, with initials offering the only clues.

It begins, ‘ My Dearest ’ and is signed, ‘ With my deepest love and heartfelt thanks to you for your kindness always, your devoted and loving cousin, L .’

A further passage indicates a curious reason for its storage.

‘ I have taken steps to preserve what is honourable and right. Isabella is in the care of a trusted woman whose people have served our family well. It will not be forever. I am eternally regretful for the anguish caused to you by denying you the truth of her whereabouts.

It is all for you, my dearest cousin, and for the protection of your beloved Isabella . Once he takes his place and it is safe to reveal it, she may lay claim to her heritage as intended, with the quilt returned to her.

All along, I knew it was the other who held your heart. I only wish you had the faith and trust in me to avail me of the truth.’

Ms Theodora Harris confirmed the quilt was in the possession of her two-times-great-grandmother in the late 1870s. Prior to that, the three medieval quilts remained the possessions of the Conte di Prato , Orlando Vincenzi .

The Coperta di Usella came to the Bargello following his death, while the V & A acquired the Tristan Quilt in 1905.

In a twist of fate, the quilt is now returned to its original site.

Ms Harris , a textile conservator herself, presented it to the head curator of the Clothworkers ’ Centre , Ms Rose Farrelly , where, following its conservation, it will join the Tristan Quilt on display. The generous donation means the quilt will remain with the V & A in perpetuity.

Harris has also approached the Bargello to request all three quilts be reunited and exhibited together.

Ms Harris stated the importance of the Florentine quilts: ‘ The quilts are of cultural significance as examples of the valuable contributions of women and their commitment to the traditional decorative arts. Key to understanding the tradition of quilting from the Middle Ages to present day, they chronicle the importance of the preservation of women’s narratives, socially, emotionally and culturally, and their role as proponents in the recording of history.’