Summary

One of a pair of knitted socks with traditional Latvian patterns from the Nica Region. It is part of a whole costume which includes a vest, shirt and handkerchief. They were knitted by Latvian migrant Mrs Grinbergs in Sydney in the 1960s for Anna Apinis, Latvian weaver and fellow migrant (Anna did not however, knit).

In 1950 Anna migrated to Australia with her father Ernest, husband Ervins and son Eriks. She 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 Anita who continues to weave to this day.

Physical Description

Pair of cream knitted knee length socks, lace knit design with pearl knitted under sole. Tops elasticised.

Significance

Significance: These items form part of the Apinis Latvian weaving collection, a collection of Latvian weavings, tools (including a countermarch floor loom), weaving notebooks, costume items and audio visual interviews. Its historical and cultural significance lies in the comprehensive documentation of the story through artefacts and narratives, the quality of the weavings and the rarity of particular items such as the loom created in a German displaced persons' camp after World War II and notebooks kept from the 1930s to preserve traditional Latvian weaving techniques. The collection documents the maintenance and transportation of cultural traditions.

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