Object ID
2004.17.2
Object Name
Rug
Date Created
1940s
Measurements
224.155 cm. L There is a 6" fringe that isn't included in the measurement. Dimensions may change depending on how it is displayed., Item (Overall)
Material
Wool
Object Entities
Helen Miras Mercury, Handmade (created by)
Mercury, Helen (is related to)
Miras, Helen (is related to)
Access Points
Object Description
Rug is red, orange, black, white, yellow, and navy blue. It has cream-colored fringe on the top and bottom. Below the fringe, there is a red line, followed by an orange line, which is then followed by another red line. Below this red line is a line of alternating black and white. Below this line, there is a pattern of two parallelograms stacked on top of each other, followed by a white diamond or an orange or yellow hourglass-shaped figure. The parallelograms are black, green, red, or blue. Under this there is another black and white line, followed by a red line. Under the red line are red, blue, white, and green trapezoids on an orange background. Below this, there are shapes that look like two E's standing back to back (in the colors of white, orange, blue, and yellow) on a red background. Then there is red, yellow, and white trapezoids on a black background. Under this, there is a red line, followed by a black and white line. Then there is a pattern of triangles that are blue, white, black, and orange or red. They stand tip to tip with another triangle to make an hourglass shape, and the corners touch the triangles on either side. In between the triangles, there is a shape made out of either yellow and black or orange and green, where green and black compose the centers. Below that there is another black and white line followed by a red line, then the design repeats, though the colors in each component change.
Origin
This was a part of the dowry of Helen Mercury, who made it by hand.

Helen was born in Apidia, Laconia, Greece in 1909. She married Christas Mercury in Niata, Laconia, Greece (a neighboring village). Much of the dowry wasn't used because the family fled from Greece to Canada because of the Greek Civil War. Christas left in 1947 and sent for Helen and his three daughters in 1948. Helen and her daughters Cathrine (5), Mary (4), and Patricia (2), fled from Athens to London to Iceland to Toronto. There she was met by her brother-in-law and sister-in-law and they all took the train to where Christas was, which became their new home.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Rug, 1940s, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/7196. Accessed 04/18/24.