Hand-embroidered floral tablecloth with cutwork elements owned by Cila Knaster
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 60.000 inches (152.4 cm) | Width: 75.000 inches (190.5 cm)
Creator(s)
- Cila Knaster (Subject)
- Cila Knaster (Original owner)
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 tablecloth 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 tablecloth decorated with floral 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
Rectangular, lightweight, tan linen tablecloth with an intricate, embroidered floral band around the plain, rectangular center and a simplified floral border with cutwork elements along the edge. The inner band is filled with a repeating pattern of cabbage-rose-like flowers separated by thin leafy segments of vines. A larger version of the flower, ringed by leaves, fills a square-shaped element extending outward from each corner of the band. A simplified version of the band’s motif is repeated in the border, with the large flowers in each corner and at the center of each side, separated by vines bearing a few, pointed leaves. The spaces between the leaves and vines are emphasized by embroidered open spaces, while the outer edge of the border is scalloped throughout and contoured along the edges of the corner flowers. There are light brown stains throughout and several loose threads and frayed edges along the cutwork.
People
- Knaster, Cila, 1908-2007.
Subjects
- Łódź (Poland)
- Santa Caterina (Italy)
- Bari (Italy)
Genre
- Object
- Furnishings and Furniture
- Needlework.