Oval-shaped, embroidered whitework and cutwork table runner owned by Cila Knaster
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 13.250 inches (33.655 cm) | Width: 52.500 inches (133.35 cm)
Creator(s)
- Cila Knaster (Original owner)
- Cila Knaster (Subject)
Biographical History
Cila Knaster (1908-2007) was born Esther Cila Hausman on December 22, 1908 in Jasionowka, Poland. In 1942, Cila’s mother Merka Levine Hausman (1883-1942), her husband Jossel Radzi (Yossl Radzi, 1909-1942), and their two children Razel Radzi (1935-1942) and Sholomas Radzi (1939-1942) were taken away and likely shot by Nazis. Cila Knaster survived the Holocaust. After the war, Cila met Baruch Knaster in a displaced persons camp and they married on August 20, 1946. Their daughter, Mirka Knaster, was born on May 11, 1947 in a DP camp in Bari, Italy. Their second daughter is Rebecca Knaster. The Knaster family immigrated to the United States aboard the SS Marine Jumper, arriving on November 21, 1949. Baruch Knaster died in 2001. Cila Knaster died on December 20, 2007.
Archival History
The table runner was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Rebecca Knaster, the daughter of Baruch and Cila Knaster.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rebecca Knaster
Scope and Content
Hand-embroidered table runner decorated with whitework and cutwork owned by Cila Hausman Knaster when she, her husband, Baruch Knaster, and their oldest daughter, Mirka Knaster, immigrated to the United States in November 1949. Cila and Baruch's families perished during the Holocaust. He was imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp, and Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was later liberated. The couple met in a displaced persons camp and married in August 1946. Their daughter, Mirka, was born in May 1947, in a DP camp in Bari, Italy.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Narrow, oval-shaped, lightweight off white linen tablecloth with a decorative band of geometric cutwork and satin-stitched floral elements bordering the long sides. The runner tapers at both ends and are both decorated by a large tear drop-shaped medallion with a scrollwork element at the end. This shaped is decorated with heavy cutwork and off white and olive green, satin-stitched floral elements. The runner's border is scalloped and finished with a stitched, off white edge.
People
- Knaster, Cila, 1908-2007.
- Knaster, Baruch, 1905-2001.
Subjects
- Santa Caterina (Italy)
- Łódź (Poland)
- Poland.
- Bari (Italy)
- Italy.
Genre
- Furnishings and Furniture
- Object
- Needlework.