| Accession Number | REL38222.002 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Cotton, Glass |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Greece: Salonika |
| Date made | c 1916-1918 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Source credit to | This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government. |
Beadwork snake : Sister E S Kemp, Australian Army Nursing Service
Description
Crochet beadwork snake made from cotton thread and small glass beads. The snake's tail is made from dark blue, clear and light blue beads with a light blue tassled end and its belly is made from white beads. The body is made from dark blue beads, with a wavy design in yellow, weaving around white flowers with red centres. There is a dark blue, light blue and white striped design near the head and the eyes have been made with red and white beads.
The face is dark blue with a diamond design in white and red. The mouth is closed and has a border of yellow beads. A thin length of beaded crochet with green beads was attached to both sides of the snake's mouth, but it has come away on one side and only 5 cm of the length remains.
History / Summary
Beadwork snake collected by Staff Nurse Elizabeth Sophy Kemp in Salonika.
Kemp first served in 1915 in Egypt, returning to Australia in April 1916. She then re-enlisted in June 1917 and within a fortnight embarked for Salonika via Egypt.
This is likely a civilian made souvenir and is different in style from the snakes made by Ottoman prisoners of War. The common beadwork patterns for the civilian snakes bodies were either flowers set among a central zigzag or a line of oval medallions.