I’ve finished this quilt, now titled, Not Persephone’s Pomegranate, for the East Bay Modern Quilters show at Bay Quilts. The show will be up the entire month of June, but the reception is June 8 from 1-3 pm.
About this quilt: In the Greek myth, Persephone, the Spring Goddess is kidnapped by Hades, the King of the Underworld, and while there, she eats three pomegranate seeds. After her rescue she has to return to the underworld for three months every year which “causes” the world to have three months of winter. Therefore, in Christian/ European iconography, the pomegranate is a symbol of death. However, in Jewish culture, the pomegranate is a symbol of fertility, abundance, and Torah. Why Torah? Supposedly a pomegranate has 613 seeds, corresponding to the 613 commandments in the Torah.
In my first art history class the professor asked, “Who knows what a pomegranate symbolizes?” I raised my hand, but luckily he didn’t call on me. I was shocked to learn that it was a momento mori, a symbol of death!
