Nothing warms the heart quite like a handwritten greeting from a loved one, and a note in one of our handmade quilled cards lends a dash of meaningful creativity to the gesture.
The art of quilling, also known as paper filigree, requires exceptional dexterity as the artisan carefully arranges small strips of curled (or quilled) paper into intricate, scrolling designs. The Met Store’s quilled cards are decorated with details from charming paintings, tapestries, and works on paper in the Museum’s holdings.
Such as The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (1495–1505), an iconic French and South Netherlandish textile belonging to the famous Unicorn Tapestries at The Met Cloisters. This beloved medieval masterwork, beautifully reimagined on our Unicorn Quilled Card, depicts the mythological creature in a garden enclosure amid a millefleurs backdrop of richly symbolic plants. The unicorn likely signifies tamed love, as the pomegranate tree to which it's loosely tethered symbolizes marriage and fertility.
Our best-selling Met Cloisters Garden Forget-Me-Not Quilled Card is a perennial favorite for its lush reference to the careful study of a forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) with a colorful butterfly.
The original illustration comes from the Master of Claude de France's spectacular book (ca. 1510–1515) belonging to what’s been called "the last flowering" of northern European manuscript illumination in the medieval tradition. The French artist immortalized a vast selection of flora, from the blackberry to the marigold, in witness to their beauty.
Our new Studies of Magnolias Quilled Card pays homage to an elegant trio of magnolias produced by Tiffany & Co. (American, 1837–present) in 1891, the final year of collector, silversmith, and designer Edward C. Moore's (American, 1827–1891) creative leadership at the company.
We're pleased to present this particular card in celebration of Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., on view at The Met Fifth Avenue from June 9 to October 20, 2024. This highly anticipated exhibition showcases Moore's profound design influence as a prodigious collector of decorative arts, a noted silversmith, and the creative force who led Tiffany & Co. to unparalleled heights of originality and success during the second half of the 19th century. Through over 180 extraordinary creations bequeathed to the Museum from Moore's collection, alongside 70 magnificent silver objects designed at Tiffany & Co. under his direction, Collecting Inspiration considers Moore's pivotal role in shaping the legendary Tiffany design aesthetic—and the evolution of The Met collection.
The origins of paper filigree are still debated—some scholars have suggested that it emerged in ancient Egypt, others in ancient China—but it was evidently embraced by nuns and monks in Renaissance Italy and France, who quilled the edges of illuminated manuscripts to embellish book covers and religious icons. Quilling paper was an effective and affordable alternative to real metal filigree.
The art form was then adopted by 18th-century European ladies who sought a socially acceptable hobby, after which it became popular in America and beyond.
Quilling has since enjoyed a resurgence in contemporary stationery as an artful alternative to machine-produced cards. Our quilled cards are made in Vietnam by highly skilled artists who personally craft each item.
Purchasing a quilled card from The Met Store supports both the Museum’s collection, study, conservation, and presentation of 5,000 years of art as well as the artisans who make them, and promotes the enduring virtue of traditional handicrafts.
Shop our full range of quilled cards and other stationery inspired by The Met collection in-store and online.
