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2004/71/1 Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 4, 2004/71/1 Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 4, 2004/71/1 Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 4, 2004/71/1 Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 4, 2004/71/1 Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930. Click to enlarge

Platypus skin rug

Rugs made from native animal skins are often mentioned in nineteenth and twentieth century sources. During the 1850s goldrushes, frequent reference is made to possum and kangaroo skins rugs being sold by Aboriginal people to the diggers. In 1881 James Dawson described such rugs as 'A good rug is made from fifty to a hundred skins, which are stripped off the opossum, pegged out square or oblong on a sheet of bark, and dried before the fire, then trimmed with a reed knife and sewn together with …

Summary

Object No.

2004/71/1

Object Statement

Rug, platypus, skin / felt, collected by Charles Bulwinkel, commissioned by Greta Denison, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, 1880-1930

Physical Description

Rectangular rug made from approximately eighty platypus skins. The rug is edged with a band of possum skins and backed with fawn felt. The felt has a pinked edge. The platypus skin has been cut to form a diamond pattern and the dark back fur and gold belly fur arranged to form a complex diamond pattern.

Short URL

https://ma.as/343335

Dimensions

Width

1720 mm

Source

Credit Line

Purchased 2004

Acquisition Date

21 April 2004

Cite this Object

Harvard

Platypus skin rug 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 29 March 2023, <https://ma.as/343335>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/343335 |title=Platypus skin rug |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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