The “Red Flower” Welsh quilt by Cefyn Burgess has been bought by St Fagans National History Museum in Cardiff. The museum is Wales’s most popular heritage attractions and has been keen to add Cefyn’s work to its collection for some time.

It will not come as a surprise to many of Cefyn’s patrons to discover that the quilt in question was chosen by the museum because not only was it the main feature of Cefyn’s recent “Migration” exhibition but it was because of the cultural heritage and story behind it.

This third exhibition from Cefyn focused on telling the story of the migration of the peoples of North Wales as they were drawn to new opportunities in America and how they took with them the treasured possessions and images of home which they cherished such as quilts, blankets, cushions embroidered pictures and table linen.

The exhibition is the story of how the indigenises Welsh culture was carried by hand across countries, continents and even time within these textiles.

It was in the Welsh quilts (the largest of all the artworks) that people truly expressed themselves because it was within the quilts that they incorporated personal meanings, family events and deeply held personal beliefs into them.

The use of colour was highly relevant and in the “Red Flower Quilt” the colour red is significant as it represented the quilts main theme of “Heart and Hearth” which expresses the love of both home and of loved ones. The quilt has hidden personal messages are depicted with flowers which are loved by someone special to Cefyn.

“Quilts like the Red Flower quilt where not just a practical domestic textile they had personal messages woven into them and could draw people back to family they have left behind or even comfort people in times of need”.

The “Red Flower” Welsh quilt from Cefyn Burgess will soon be on display at St Fagans and as soon as we now more you will be the first to know.