Pieced Animal skins Quilts
Kangaroo skin rug made from 22 pieces of kangaroo pelt, 4 pieces across each end of the rug and 2 larger pieces making up panels in the central portion of the rug. Pelts are hand stitched together. Backing of burgundy felt has been attached by hand stitching. The navy edging around the skins appears to be machine sewn. The felt backinge xtends beyond the fur and makes a border with scalloped edge.
No padding.
1981 x 1309mm
Skin rug made from kangaroo skins, in six squares with a diamond shape in the centre. Four squares are pale tan, the two centre ones are grey-brown, and the diamond shaped skin is red-brown. Skins are hand sewn with a zigzag stitch to the backing of brown woollen fabric. On each long side is a border of the brown wool fabric, with the edges serrated. No padding.
1760 x 1040mm
Pieced skin rug made from 12 kangaroo skins. Skins are hand sewn. Nearly all the fur has worn off. No padding or backing.
1720 x 1450mm
Skin rug made of 20 possum skins, hand sewn. Rug is lined with strong woven cotton. No padding.
1710 x 960mm
Animal skin rug made from skins of the Long-footed Potoroo, the skins trimmed to rectangular shapes then stitched together. Backing and edging is of dark red felt.
1800 x 1500mm
Pieced kangaroo skin rug. The centre is a square on edge (grey) with radiating squares made up of rectangular pieces of different coloured skins. The skins were from the big red, the blue flyer, the black scrubber and the grey. One of a pair. The rug is lined with blue felt with traditional scalloped edge. The edge is double where it extends beyond the fur.
1950 x 1350mm
Rabbit skin rug. Hand pieced and stitched on to an Onkaparinga blanket as the backing. The orange coloured blanket shows around the edge of the rug. The skins are very soft and pliable.
Fur rug, mainly rabbit skins. The animal origin of the centre strip of tan fur is unknown. Restoration work was done on the rug 30 years ago and a new green felt backing replaced the old green one.
1000 x 750mm
Skin rug made from unknown African animals. Centre backs stitched together in rows, 10 x 4 rows. Tartan backing extends beyond the skins on the front to make a border. 2100 x 1630mm
Pieced kangaroo skin rug. Part skins have been cut into rectangles and stitched in lines. The skins are from 'black scrubbers'. The rug is lined with green felt with the traditional scalloped edge extending beyond the fur.
1200 x 853mm
Skin rug, probably rabbit. Centre backs of 72 fine winter skins used, 6 skins across and 9 in lenth. Exceptionally well matched and very supple tanning. Blue baize backing with traditional scalloped edge. Brown rat tail braid 90mm from the edge on the back and also a centre design with rat tail braid.
1910 x 1700mm
Pieced kangaroo skin rug. Centre square set on edge with radiating squares of rectangles of different coloured skins. This rug is one of a pair. The skins were from the big red, the blue flyer, the black scrubber and the grey. The backing is red felt with the traditional scalloped edge that extends beyond the fur.
1800 x 1500mm
Skin rug made from 40 rabbit skins, stitched in strips and then sewn to make 5 rows down the length of the rug. Three skins are missing. Tanned by hand with wattle bark, and hand sewn. No padding or backing.
1400 x 1100mm
Pieced kangaroo skin rug. 3 rows of full skins all from 'black scrubber' kangaroos. Skins are evenly matched to form triangular peaks either end into which the next row of skins fits The backing is burgundy felt with taditional scalloped edge.
1800 x 1200mm
Leather buggy rug constructed from hundreds of squares each 60mm. There is a pink band of the same size squares 3 rows in from each border. There is no padding. The backing is a towelling type material.
1140 x 1700mm
Skin rug constructed from 9 wild dog peltsand the 3 light coloured middle pelts are dingo. Backed by blue serge, then pink cotton. Originally had scalloped pink edge. Attached with large herringbone stitches. New backing was put on in 1954.
1360 x 775mm
Quilt or rug made of rectangles (12 x 20cm) of kangaroo skins with the fur still on. Some blocks have long fur, some have shorter fur, the colour varying from light belly colours to rusty brown. It is lined and bordered with wool fabric in a red, green and yellow tartan. Handsewn with linen thread.
1410 x 1370mm
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
Skin rug believed to be platypus pelts, 28 in all. It has a brown cotton backing.
1300 x 900mm
Possum skin cloak. The possum skins are sewn together with vegetable fibre or kangaroo sinew. Designs are incised into the skins, some of which are decorated with ochres.
2720 x 2100mm