Summary

Rug woven by Aphroditi Selingouna Pandazi when she was 16 years old in her village of Kalohori, in Larissa in Greece in 1952. It is comprised of four textile threads and took her 40 days to weave each thread. The whole rug was completed in six months using an old, heavy, wooden hand loom that had belonged to her sister Sultana which are now rare to find.

Aphrodite reflected in 2019: 'I was only 16 years old when I hand-crafted this one of a kind rug in 1952. It is comprised of four textile threads and it took me 40 days to weave each thread. The whole rug was completed in 6 months by using an old, heavy wooden hand-Loom which specific model today is extremely rare to find. I began at 5am each morning and finished at night. Each day I would complete 50cm lengths made of pure white lambs wool. The natural dye colouring was carried out with the assistance of my mother Frangitsa and my older sister Sultana. The overall work and responsibility was mine. The loom belonged to my sister and was located at a village called 'Kalohori' in the City of Larissa.'

Significance

This collection documents the maintenance and transportation of cultural traditions, as well as the dowry tradition shared by women from many cultural groups in Australia. Many women migrating to Australia to marry brought their dowries, which consisted of textiles made in their country of origin.

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