Here are photographs taken on September 12, 2026 of the textile collection of Diane Alexander White with notations and measurements in each photo. There are a total of four kilims and one tagari that were woven for family members who lived in the Arcadia and Laconian villages of Geraki, Vrontama, Kosma, Poulithra, Peleta and Kounoupia Greece. Please contact Diane Alexander White for more information. Included is a steamer trunk with a nameplate of Emanuel Cotsones that was brought over in 1913 with the kilims, textiles and a wedding gown worn by Lillian Vournazou-Cotsones. She was born in Vrontama(1893-1990) and married Emanuel (1881-1936) Cotsones of Kosmas Greece.
For more information here are links to explain the weaving of kilims.
https://gerakiweaving.org/stories/
https://www.benaki.org/index.php?option=com_events&view=event&type=&id=1051416&Itemid=560&lang=en
This book was gifted to me by Sharon Gerstal who is the UCLA PROFESSOR OF GREEK AND BYZANTINE STUDIES. Her research is extensive and includes Panayiotes Vournazou who was a producer of kilims in the Geraki, Vrontama and Cosmas villages of Laconia. He was my great-great-great grandfather (pro-pro-pro-papou) who had a secret language to keep production close to the makers. This way their financials would be protected throughout generations.
Weaving Dreams: Kilims from Geraki, Laconia: The picturesque village of Geraki, resting gently on the slopes of Mount Parnon in Laconia, is located approximately 39 km southeast of Sparta. The women of Geraki have long been recognized for their skilled weaving, which they produced for both domestic and commercial use. Affirming the importance of the village’s vibrant weaving history, the textile art of Geraki on the vertical loom was inscribed in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece in 2019.
This richly-illustrated catalogue introduces the reader to Geraki’s long weaving tradition through essays on the history of the village and the presentation of kilims and tagaria from private and ecclesiastical collections. The research and this volume are the result of an initiative undertaken by the Cultural Society of Geraki and Gefyra, a collaborative program of the University of California, Los Angeles and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, which is underwritten by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
The book is available in English or Greek.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Cultural Society of Geraki (the Geraki weavers) and the Benaki Museum in Athens.
Edited by: Sharon E. J. Gerstel and Sofia Pitouli
Texts by: Sharon E. J. Gerstel, Sofia Pitouli, Evangelia P. Eleftheriou, Els Hom, Anthi Saranti, Michalis Sovolos, Chrysoula Stamatopoulou
https://hellenic.ucla.edu/weaving-dreams/
For more information here are links to explain the weaving of kilims.
https://gerakiweaving.org/stories/
https://www.benaki.org/index.php?option=com_events&view=event&type=&id=1051416&Itemid=560&lang=en
This book was gifted to me by Sharon Gerstal who is the UCLA PROFESSOR OF GREEK AND BYZANTINE STUDIES. Her research is extensive and includes Panayiotes Vournazou who was a producer of kilims in the Geraki, Vrontama and Cosmas villages of Laconia. He was my great-great-great grandfather (pro-pro-pro-papou) who had a secret language to keep production close to the makers. This way their financials would be protected throughout generations.
Weaving Dreams: Kilims from Geraki, Laconia: The picturesque village of Geraki, resting gently on the slopes of Mount Parnon in Laconia, is located approximately 39 km southeast of Sparta. The women of Geraki have long been recognized for their skilled weaving, which they produced for both domestic and commercial use. Affirming the importance of the village’s vibrant weaving history, the textile art of Geraki on the vertical loom was inscribed in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece in 2019.
This richly-illustrated catalogue introduces the reader to Geraki’s long weaving tradition through essays on the history of the village and the presentation of kilims and tagaria from private and ecclesiastical collections. The research and this volume are the result of an initiative undertaken by the Cultural Society of Geraki and Gefyra, a collaborative program of the University of California, Los Angeles and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, which is underwritten by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
The book is available in English or Greek.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Cultural Society of Geraki (the Geraki weavers) and the Benaki Museum in Athens.
Edited by: Sharon E. J. Gerstel and Sofia Pitouli
Texts by: Sharon E. J. Gerstel, Sofia Pitouli, Evangelia P. Eleftheriou, Els Hom, Anthi Saranti, Michalis Sovolos, Chrysoula Stamatopoulou
https://hellenic.ucla.edu/weaving-dreams/
© Diane Alexander White PHOTOGRAPHY