Quilt No.924CP - Connie Papalazaros

1940 x 1300mm
The quilt was made in Sydney by the quiltmaker Panagioti Zoumbatli c.1950. It was ordered by Evdokia (Eve) Kiossoglou for her daughter's 'prika' (dowry or trousseau). Her daughter Connie Papalazaros has always been the owner.
"Connie's Two Quilts
While Connie Papalazaros was still quite young, her mother Evdokia (Eve) began assembling a 'prika' (dowry or trousseau) for her daughter, in preparation for getting married. Evdokia was being true to her Kastellorizian origins - her daughter's prika would not be complete without at least one 'paploma' (quilt) She ordered these two quilts from Panagioti Zoumbatli a Sydney-based 'paplomatas' (quilt-maker). He, like Connie's parents, had migrated from the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo.
Evdokia Kiossoglou came to Australia in 1935, married Agapitos (Peter) Pengly in the north Queensland town of Innisfail, just at the time that the Greek Orthodox Church was being established there. They had four children: Connie, Pauline, Thaao, and George. Soon after Connie was born, the family moved to Sydney and lived first in Surry Hills and later in Kingsford, which has always been a popular 'Greek' suburb of Sydney. 'Mum used to walk to the Cassie Club!' Connie recalls. Sydney's well known Castellorizian Club has played an important role in the life of the city's Greek Australian community.
Connie eventually returned to Brisbane (taking her 'prika', of course!) and married John, who had migrated from Kastellorizo in 1950. As with so many other Greek-Australian women in Queensland, Connie started off using her quilts, but the hotter climate meant that they were eventually replaced by lighter bedcovers. Connie and John have always owned their own snack bar business, and their traditioinal 'Queenslander' house where they still are today."
[Written by Lula Saunders, adapted from interview 6/9/00 for the National Quilt Register]

Related Quilts:
1580 x 1200mm
1010 x 840mm
The coverlet is decorated with rows of pieced work surrounding appliquéd and embroidered scenes. A panel down the LHS of the quilt and a smaller panel lower RHS depict animals and floral images. In the centre RHS an elderly couple sit beneath a tree. In the upper left a bride and groom accompanied by three flower girls are showered with petals from a wicker basket carried by a very large angel. Glass beads, sequins and a button have been used to highlight the appliqué and embroidery.
As with all of Mary Jane Hannaford's quilts, the work is stitched by hand and quite crudely, but the naivety of the images is overwhelming with their charm." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 1950 x 1690mm
2240 x 885mm