Quilt No.172DG - Doris Gould
Owner:
Doris Gould
Location:
VIC North East
Maker
Maker:
Doris Gould
Made in
AUSTRALIA VIC
Patterms
Date:
unknown
Description:
Fox skin rug made from 28 winter fox skins, with turquoise green felt backing and with green felt scalloped edging. Part of some tails as edging remain. Skins hand pieced together, top sewn to backing by machine.
1550 x 1550mm
History:
Made by Doris Gould from skins taken from foxes shot by her husband Jack or friends. Now owned by the Omeo Historical Society (VIC).
Story:
The foxes were shot at Cobungra by Jack Gould (Doris's husband), or Bill Toland or Tom Leyshon. They whistled up the foxes using a whistle home made from a piece of kerosene tin. The skins were tanned by Bill Toland using wattle bark; he also pegged them out. Doris pieced the skins, trimmed them and stitched by hand using heavy thread. Extra skins were used to replace the grey pieces under the neck. The top was machined to the back felt and this was scalloped using a penny.
The rug was for many years at the foot of Doris's bed and used in winter. She then said it became too heavy. The children loved it.
Related Quilts:
Kangaroo skin cloak of seven gores is made from the skins of seven grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus). The skins vary in size and shape, the inner five are roughly triangular. The cloak is edged with a series of loops, through one of these near the collar is a piece of cloth which appears to have tied the cloak together. The skins are sewn together with two sorts of linen or cotton thread. In a small diamond-shaped gusset at the back of the neck there are some stitches of sinew. The skins are sewn together by means of a small hem which was turned back on to the fur, so stitches went through two layers of skin on each gore. There are some small holes in the skins. The skins are very soft and pliable, and greyish in colour; they vary in size and shape.
Longest part: 800mm
Ref: MA Thesis 1973, S.Meagher 'A Reconstruction of the Traditional Life of the Aborigines of the S.W. of Western Australia.
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