Quilt No.725CK - Christina Kazaglis

Christina Kazaglis
Owner: 
Christina Kazaglis
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Maria Kazaglis
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Wholecloth quilt with one side blue satin with a red satin border and the reverse side wholecloth floral cotton. The quilting is parallel lines and squares. It is all hand stitched. The padding is raw cotton.
1740 x 1240mm
History: 

The quilt was made in Earlwood, Sydney in 1955 by Maria (Theodorou) Kazaglis for Christina Athanasiadis her furure daughter-in-law. Christina has always owned the quilt.

Story: 

Christina's Quilt
This quilt was made in the 1950s, for young Christina Athanasiadis, by her then future mother-in-law Maria Kazaglis. Maria knew that Christina's 'prika' (dowry) did not include a 'paploma' (quilt), so she bought the blue and red satin, the floral cotton fabric and raw cotton for the padding, and made the paploma, in traditional Greek style, with her sister Despina helping her, in the lounge room of her house in Earlwood. This is where Christina came to live with husband George in 1955 and are still there today.
Christina arrived in Australia at the age of 14, with her mother Irini, sister Eleni and brother George. They came from the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria. As a young girl, Irini had been sent from her Greek island of Castellorizo to Alexandria, to work as a domestic for the local Greek bishop and his niece. In Alexandria she married Yianni who had come from Cyprus, also to find work. They decided that Australia held better prospects so Yianni came to Australia in 1938, and immediately made arrangements for the family to join him, but WW2 broke out and they had to wait until 1946 to make the journey. During these years, Christina's mother worked hard to find the money to have her children taught some basic English in preparation for coming to Australia.
When Christina and George were to be married - in keeping with the age-old customs of Castellorizo, the house in Earlwood where the quilt was made, was richly decorated with Christina's prika - beautiful embroidery, fine crochet and needlework. The women all brought traditional Greek sweets and sang the island wedding songs handed down through the generations, while the young, single women helped to make and decorate the wedding bed. For young Christina, transplanted from her beloved Alexandria into this distant, different place, it was all quite overwhelming, and she hid herself away 'in the last room of the house'! These days, Christina regrets the passing of these lovely old customs and rituals.
Christina's paploma was well-used in the early years of their marriage, especially when their three children, Maria, Irini and Vassilia (Victoria) were born. Today it serves as a reminder of the complex processes of migration and how deeply they affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of Greek and other Australian women."
[Written by Lula Saunders, adapted from interview 29 March 2000, for the National Quilt Register]

Maria Kazaglis (1885-1964) and Vassili Kazaglis (1870-1936)
Maria Kazaglis (1885-1964) and Vassili Kazaglis (1870-1936)
Christina Kazaglis, 2000
Christina Kazaglis, 2000
The house in Earlwood where the quilt was made, 2000
The house in Earlwood where the quilt was made, 2000

Related Quilts:

Yvonne Hamdorf
Wholecloth pram quilt with a top of pink cotton sateen, and the reverse is a more finely woven, ivory, fabric. All over quilting design as main feature, with stylised hearts, leaves and cross hatching. The padding is cotton batting. 870 x 660 mm.
John Tomkin
Hand stitched, cotton, appliquéd, quilt in a flower pattern on a plain background. Colours are shades of green, apricot and browns. This quilt was known as a 'Bride's Quilt'. Padding is thought to be layers of white fabric raised almost like a wadding. The backing is cotton material. 2470 x 2020 mm.
Margaret Eisenhauer
Wholecloth quilt covered with floral cretonne both sides, deep pink and yellow flowers on a cream background. The padding is hessian/jute type bags joined.
One of a pair but the other quilt is larger.
1800 x 900mm
Gilgandra Historical Society
Wholecloth quilt of natural coloured cotton material. Two thousand two hundred and twenty six names have been embroidered on the top in red stranded cotton. The backing is red and white cotton material.
2033 x 1474mm
Verna Doak
Cot quilt made in rows of crochet in treble clusters. Backed with blue cotton fabric. Backing replaced with another backing of blue fabric in 1970. Colours of rows are green,yellow, blue, pink and red.
Elsie Roberts
Quilt made of white cotton with a diamond set applique pattern of brown tipped pink dogwood blossoms with green leaves in the centre. Hand appliquéd. The centre is hand quilted with cross hatching and the borders are quilted with feathered cables and circular patterns. Padding is Mountain Mist polyester, the backing is of white cotton. The quilt edges are bound with pink bias binding.
2180 x 1860mm