Betty and Chris Maier Collection
Collection
Identifier: GRHC 090
Scope and Contents
The Betty and Chris Maier Collection is a small collection that consists of one VolhynianGerman hemp rug of two hand-woven panels sewn together at mid seam. Each panel is 27 inches wide of weft striped with bright colors on the black wrap of 72 inches long. The hemp is handspun for 16 picks per inch of woven fabric. One inch wide weft stripes are aniline chemical dyes
of black, maroon, fuchsia, indigo blue, Prussian blue, moss green, and chartreuse green. Some
one-eighth-inch wide weft stripes of indigo blue and moss green are inserted with white “X” dashes, which appear as zipper-dotted lines parallel with the colored stripes. This Volhyian-German hemp “boden-placht” was purchased in 1991 by Chris and Betty Maier near Rivne, Volhynia (northwest Ukraine, west of Zhitomir and Kiev) from an elderly Ukrainian man’s roadside merchant stand. The seller at the village of Borisvitski did not know the ethnic origin of this unique hemp rug, but he insisted that the rug was not ethnic Ukrainian.
Dates
- no date
Access
Access to the physical collection is available upon request. Request must be made at least three (3) business days prior to ndsu.grhc@ndsu.edu.
Copyrights
Copyrights to items in this collection remain with original copyright holders or are in the public domain.
Biography
Chris Maier, Jr. was born on June 30, 1925. Chris and his wife Betty lived in Linton, North Dakota. The couple had three children: Kurt, Roger, and Danette. Chris Maier died January 7,
2007 at the age of eighty-one.
Extent
1 Items (1 textile.)
Language of Materials
English
Summary
One Volhynian-German hemp rug.
Provenance
Items were donated by Betty and Chris Maier on May 12, 2003.
Separated Materials
The Betty and Chris Maier Collection also included a book, 2003.05.01, which was donated
along with the rug. The book, Gossamer Webs: the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls by Galina Khmeleva and Carol R. Noble, has been catalogued and placed in the GRHC library.
Cataloged Book
- Khmeleva, Galina, and Noble, Carol R. . Gossamer Webs : the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls Loveland, Colo: Interweave Press, 1998.
Separated Materials
The rug is housed at the Emily P. Reynolds Historic Costume Collection. Advanced notice is
requested for the viewing of this item.
Property Rights
The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Betty and Chris Maier Collection
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection Repository
Contact:
NDSU Dept 2080
PO Box 6050
Fargo ND 58108-6050 United States
(701) 231-6596
ndsu.grhc@ndsu.edu
NDSU Dept 2080
PO Box 6050
Fargo ND 58108-6050 United States
(701) 231-6596
ndsu.grhc@ndsu.edu