Summary

Wooden spool from the countermarch floor loom, circa 1945. Which was constructed for Anna Apinis by fellow survivors of World War II in a displaced persons camp in Germany, using wood from bombed out ruins. Anna painstakingly sketched and documented ancient Latvian designs from the regional costumes rescued by other Latvian refugee women. She then wove them on her loom with threads gathered by unravelling old scraps of fabric.

Anna migrated to Australia in 1950, with her father Ernest, husband Ervins and son Erik, bringing her loom also. Anna became one of the few suppliers of fabric for Latvian national costumes in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, and exhibited her weaving nationally, at exhibitions and Latvian cultural festivals. She fulfilled her dream to keep her cultural traditions alive through her daughter who continues to weave to this day.

Physical Description

Turned wooden spool with hole drilled through centre and two nail heads protruding slightly from one end.

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