Quilt No.537JG - Jan Gaudron
Owner:
Jan Gaudron
Location:
NSW South West Slopes
Maker
Maker:
Mr Holt
Made in
AUSTRALIA NSW
Patterms
Date:
1901 - 1920
Description:
Possum skin rug with 6 rows of 7 skins. The backing is red felt with a border showing and peaked edge.
1680 x 1460mm
History:
Francis Henry Burns of Mayfield Newcastle NSW shot the possums and the skins were tanned by Mr. Holt of Tighes Hill Newcastle. The rug was owned by Frances Burns and his wife Kathleen and is now owned by their grand-daughter Jan Gaudron. It is used on a bed.
Story:
The rug was used in the 1920s but is thought to be much older. There was another one with black rabbit fur edging. Francis and Kathleen Burns lived in Mayfield Newcastle from the time of their mariage in 1914 and they also had a holiday house at Duchy's Bay, Nelson Bay where the rug was used.
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.
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
Kangaroo skin rug backed on to a brown checked fringed rug.
1931 x 1525mm
Rug made from 54 Platypus skins; 6 rows of 9 rectangular pelts, brown with creamy yellow edges, machined together. The backing is red felt or baize and extends beyond the top with a punched scalloped border. The backing is hand stitched to the top and has a centre motif of a flower outlined in black braid within a large black rectangle.
1890 x 1635mm
Platypus skin rug. Skins are joined in 7 rows with the larger skins on the outside and the smaller ones in the centre. Skins are rich dark brown with yellow/cream sides (the belly fur). The backing is dark brown felt extending beyond the fur and with a stamped scalloped edge.
1720 x 1490mm