Object numberM2018/018:059
DescriptionElliptical challah cover, hand embroidered by Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor Margit Reisz (nee Herceg, 1889-1963). Precise date and place of creation unknown.
Margit was born in Kolozsvár, present day Romania. Her mother died when she was young, and her father subsequently abandoned his family.
She married 36 year old Ignacz Reisz in 1911, when she was 19. The Reisz family owned farmland, and had became successful businesspeople in the Hungarian village of Kunszentmiklós, south of Budapest. They were involved with the village synagogue, with Ignacz being president of the synagogue association for a time. Margit handled the accounting for their business, in addition to becoming a talented cook and accomplished crochet and embroidery artist.
The couple had three children – Ilona (b. 1916), Feri (b. 1911) and Emil (b. 1915). The family Hungarianised their name to Rabay in the mid 1930s.
Margit and her husband were arrested and briefly interned in Budapest early on in the war years, falsely accused of making anti-government remarks. After being freed, they stayed at their apartment at 34 Szigony Street in Budapest. They were forced to live in Budapest's compulsory Jewish residences, the "Yellow Star Houses" and managed to survive until the city was liberated in 1945.
Eventually led to flee Communist persecution in the post-war years, Margit moved to Australia with the family of her daughter, Ilona, in 1958. The family opened a restaurant in Melbourne. She suffered from depression until her death in 1963. Margit was particularly traumatised by the wartime deaths of her two sons, who perished in the Jewish forced labour camps.
Margit was born in Kolozsvár, present day Romania. Her mother died when she was young, and her father subsequently abandoned his family.
She married 36 year old Ignacz Reisz in 1911, when she was 19. The Reisz family owned farmland, and had became successful businesspeople in the Hungarian village of Kunszentmiklós, south of Budapest. They were involved with the village synagogue, with Ignacz being president of the synagogue association for a time. Margit handled the accounting for their business, in addition to becoming a talented cook and accomplished crochet and embroidery artist.
The couple had three children – Ilona (b. 1916), Feri (b. 1911) and Emil (b. 1915). The family Hungarianised their name to Rabay in the mid 1930s.
Margit and her husband were arrested and briefly interned in Budapest early on in the war years, falsely accused of making anti-government remarks. After being freed, they stayed at their apartment at 34 Szigony Street in Budapest. They were forced to live in Budapest's compulsory Jewish residences, the "Yellow Star Houses" and managed to survive until the city was liberated in 1945.
Eventually led to flee Communist persecution in the post-war years, Margit moved to Australia with the family of her daughter, Ilona, in 1958. The family opened a restaurant in Melbourne. She suffered from depression until her death in 1963. Margit was particularly traumatised by the wartime deaths of her two sons, who perished in the Jewish forced labour camps.
Production placeMelbourne, Victoria, Australia, Hungary
Production date 1905 - 1963
Subjectreligious observance, decorative art, Jews in Australia, crafts & craft equipment, art, religious objects
Object namechallah covers
Materialfibres (fabrics)
Techniqueembroidered, stitched
Dimensions
- diameter: 350.00 mm
diameter: 410.00 mm
Language
- Hebrew
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ester Sarkadi-Clarke