Ada's handkerchief box

18cm x 15cm x 6cm

 

Description

Expandable handkerchief box with some of its original content. Donation.

 

Themes, comments & storylines

"The handkerchief box came from my father's mother, Ada La Gro. She had received it from her parents (my father's grandparents). After her death it was sent to my father by family relatives.

 

It did not have personal significance, but represented memories of past generations. It was received with all the items intact and they had been used by my father's mother. They represent a period or time in history and were part of everyday life. In those times (1890s), people in Europe often wore black. The black handkerchief went with the clothes and was kept in the sleeve on the wrist or in a little beaded bag.

 

One reason this was sent is that the family sent objects that were easy to send in the post (by boat) and they were often the small objects.

 

Because of the war a lot of personal objects were lost. My mother's family home was occupied by Germans and all the possessions were destroyed and lost.

 

My father's house was not occupied. His mother had diphteria, so when the German soldiers rushed in, they were frightened of the possibility of infection and didn't search the house in detail or take objects.”

 

Nelica La Gro, December 2003

 

The black handkerchief is now in Resting places. On to of the handkerchiefs there there was a lavender sachet when Nelica gave me the box - this became the centre piece of Lavender box whose vibrant blue pays homage to her mother's last resting place.

 

The handkerchief box is the sister piece to Ada's glove box.

 

More about handkerchiefs

"I've got some of my father's handkerchiefs and I'd be very sad if I lost them, but that's because of the spiritual connection with your family... I just have them, they are not particularly old, I might even use them occasionally, but then in this day and age, they are not seen to be very sanitary... now I just carry them around, I suppose symbolic of my dad, because he never left the house without two handkerchiefs. And in times of crisis, he always had a handkerchief, not for himself, because he was not very emotive in public life, but I can remember occasions when I felt a bit and he gave me one of his hankies. And that's how I acquired them, so they are very significant. They don't really exist nowadays and you wonder how many emotions have been contained in handkerchiefs, and states of health, sneezing, coughing, crying, all sorts of thing."
(from my correspondence, UK)