Gussie R Bento
Gussie R Bento | Hawai‘i, United States b.1932 | Na Kalaunua me Na Kāhili o Kamehamaha IV (The Kāhili and Crowns of Kamehameha IV) c.1980 | Kapa kuiki quilt: commercial cotton cloth, synthetic batting, with hand appliqué and contour quilting | Purchased 2010. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Senior Hawaiian quilter Gussie R Bento’s spectacular quilt has its roots in the late eighteenth century and in Hawai‘i’s struggle for sovereignty. In this quilt, four kahili (feather standards) have been used to signify the presence of ali’i (chiefs), while the crown motifs refer to the memory of King Kamehameha IV (1834–63) and Queen Lili’uokalani (1838–17), the last Hawaiian Monarch.
Bento’s grandmother had been a quilter, so she tried to teach herself and, around 1968, she joined a quilting group taught by Deborah (Kepola) Kakalia (1915–2002), a widely respected practitioner in the field. Quilting continues to be a significant form of cultural expression for Hawaiian women, who keep alive the designs and stories linked to colonial times and to ideas of nation. To quote Bento: ‘When you borrow a pattern you can make changes. You put your heart in and the quilt becomes yours’.
