Circular, crocheted, floral and geometric doily owned by Cila Knaster
Extent and Medium
overall: | Diameter: 29.000 inches (73.66 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 crocheted doily 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
Crocheted doily decorated with floral and geometric elements 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
Circular, discolored, beige, crocheted doily consisting of bands of floral and geometric design elements. The interior circle consists of a large flower ringed by a band of smaller, repeating flowers. The same flowers ring the outermost band of the centerpiece. Between these floral sections are an inner band of a latticework and an outer band of bars formed from stacked chevrons.
People
- Knaster, Baruch, 1905-2001.
- Knaster, Cila, 1908-2007.
Subjects
- Poland.
- Łódź (Poland)
- Bari (Italy)
- Santa Caterina (Italy)
- Italy.
Genre
- Decorative Arts
- Furnishings.
- Object