Hand-embroidered whitework and needle lace tablecloth owned by Cila Knaster
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 68.250 inches (173.355 cm) | Width: 101.125 inches (256.858 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 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 whitework and needle lace 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, off white linen tablecloth with a decorative, floral and geometric, cutwork band around the plain, rectangular center and a handkerchief hem along the edge. In each corner of the inner band, there is a quatrefoil-shaped, floral, needle lace medallion at the center of a square with cutwork borders. A satin-stitched flower, leaves, and dots accent each corner of the square. Between the squares, the band consists of a repeating line of elongated and stylized tulip-like, cutwork flowers separated by satin-stitched dots and lines. At the center of each long side, there is an additional oblong needle lace medallion framed by cutwork segments and satin-stitched flowers and dots. There are several handwritten and stamped, black ink numbers, possibly laundry marks, in the corners. There are small, brown stains along the border and at the lower, center section of the tablecloth.
front, lower right corner, handwritten, black ink : 125 front, upper right corner, stamped, black ink : 1575 front, upper left corner, stamped, black ink : 183 / 1575 / 133 front, lower left corner, handwritten, black ink : 132
People
- Knaster, Cila, 1908-2007.
Subjects
- Łódź (Poland)
- Santa Caterina (Italy)
- Bari (Italy)
Genre
- Object
- Furnishings and Furniture
- Needlework.