Summary

Poster advertising the 2001 Box Hill Mother's Day Raffle. Poster features a number of G.K. jewellery pieces made and donated by George Kyriakides. The poster indicates that George donated three key pieces of jewellery, one 9ct Rose Gold handcrafted FOB chain (59.6g) valued at $2,200, one 9ct Gold Cubic Zirconia Dress Ring valued at $350 and one 75cm Shell based Pearl Necklace (imported from Spain) with Sterling Silver Clip valued at $300. The raffle was drawn on Thursday 3rd of May 2001 with winners announced and published in the Whitehorse Gazette on14 May 2001.

George Kyriakides was born in 1921 in Larnaca, on the southern coast of Cyprus. In his early working years he was apprenticed to his father Petrou Kyriacou as a silversmith and in 1948 George migrated to Melbourne, Australia. In 1949 he married Australian-born Silvia Sarandis, the child of Greek migrants and they had two children. Using his skills as a silversmith, he worked for a local silverware company and then proceeded to start his own silversmithing business under the name Saracen Plate Company, situated at 152 Lygon St, Carlton. A manufacturing wholesale business, they sold mainly to large clients such as Myers and Prouds Jewellery. In 1974 George sold the wholesale silversmithing part of the business due to the difficulty in obtaining pure metals, and continued to work as a Jeweller under the name GK Jewellery until his retirement and beyond. In later years George was known for his philanthropic generosity and in 2006 he died and is survived by his two children.

Physical Description

Laminated A4 promotional poster featuring gold, purple and blue text.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This collection offers a multi-faceted snapshot of a migrant small business in Lygon Street Carlton through tools of trade, product catalogue and a sample of the silverware produced for retail. It thus encapsulates a small business activity from production through to sale and distribution. It includes a beautiful filigree tray as well as more mainstream domestic silverware items. The collection enables the documentation of the passing on of trade traditions and skills from one generation to the next and the bringing of those skills to Australia, as well as capturing a particular craft, filigree work, which is a disappearing artform.

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