Object ID
2013.16.4
Object Name
Scarf
Material
Lace
Object Entities
Baltas, Despina (owned by)
Apostle, James (is related to)
Apostle, Geraldine (is related to)
Baltas, Despina (is related to)
Object Description
This headscarf is made of a single triangular piece of black lace. The lace has been preserved very well so that the pattern of a blooming flowre with wines and smaller buds around it. This image is repeated in rows across the entire lenght of the scarf. The regularity of the stitches and the repetion of the pattern implies that it was manufactured rather than hand made.
Origin
Most traditional greek outfits for women included some type of head covering. While the lace would not necessarily cover much of her head, it was still modest to do so. The headscarf was a way for women to show off wealth and so lace is used as a status symbol.

Despina and her husband George Kremidas lived in the Greek village of Dessila, Greece. Dessila is a tiny village in the area of Messenia on the Peloponnese. Their daughter Angeliki, the third of five children, was the only member of the immediate family to emmigrate to America. While living in New England, she married Nicholas Apostolos and subsequently gave birth to two sons: George and James. The family moved to Michigan and both sons served in the military during World War II. Afterwards both sons earned degrees from Worsham College of Mortuary Scieince in Chicago and opened a mortuary in Muskegon, Michigan together. James married Geraldine Pavlis. In 1960 the two left to visit his family in Greece, however, on the day of their departure George Kremidas (James' grandfather) passed away at the age of 98. The personal artifacts included in this accession were given to the Apostles during this trip.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Scarf, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/9819. Accessed 04/25/24.