Quilt No.256MM - Migration Museum
Owner:
Migration Museum
Location:
SA Adelaide
Maker
Maker:
Unknown
Made in
AUSTRALIA SA
Patterms
Date:
1901 - 1920
Description:
Possum skin rug, the colour of fur a tan, browny-white, made of rectangles of skins stitched in three rows. Backing fabric is dyed heavy cotton or linen, a plum purple on the back but a faded brown colour on the fur side. The backing fabric has been pinked around the edges to create a scalloped border. The skins were handsewn together, then sewn on to the backing fabric. Some stitching holding fur to backing has come undone.
1580 x 1198mm
History:
Maker unknown. Owned and used by the Everard Family, and more recently by two unmarried sisters, Grace Evelyn Everard and Ruby Clarice Everard. Probably made before World War I. The rug would have come from one of 3 Everard homes, 'Ashford', 'Marshfield' or Hillsley'. Donated to the Migration Museum (SA).
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.
Skin rug made from approximately 50 fox skins. These are hand sewn together in strips approx. 100mm wide across the width of the rug. Backing is of dark brown felt. The edge is trimmed with blue felt with a scalloped edge. Skins were tanned with wattle bark tanning solution.
1550 x 1300mm
Opossum pelts cut into rectangles and joined. The top is piped in red felt and the backing is red felt with a double scalloped edge.
1640 x 1210mm
Platypus skin rug, 63 pelts in 7 rows by 9. Skins are small, rectangular and worn down. The colour is greyish brown with a darker centre. The skins are machine stitched then the rug is hand sewn to dark brown felt which extends to form a wide border and this has 3 rows of machine stitching.
1780 x 1425mm
Wallaby skin rug of small rectangles stitched together with sinew. The back of the rug has been scored in diamond patterns.
The rug consists of 95 fox tails (19 down and 5 across) stitched to fox skins which also form a border. The top section is piped with felt. The backing is wool felt scalloped around the edge.
1580 x 1260mm