Cape, Fur
Production date
1939-1940
Description
A fur cape made from the pelts of bush rats. Rectangular sections of fur stitched together to short, shoulder cape. Lined with pale purple, floral material.
See full details
Object detail
Artist/Maker
Production role
Manufacturer
Production date
1939-1940
Production place
Classification
Credit line
Rats
and
romance
do
not
normally
go
together
but
this
rat
fur
cape
may
have
helped
a
possum
trapper
snare
his
wife.
This one-off cape was fashioned from the skins of bush rats trapped by Mick Murphy on Mount Taranaki from 1939 -1940. Murphy, who was employed as a possum trapper, sent the skins to a furrier in Palmerston North who made the cape.
Puke Ariki's records are silent on Murphy's motivation for all this effort but recent research suggests a romantic link.
A possum trapper would not have the money to woo his girl with mink and perhaps even his possum skins were too valuable, so it makes sense he had to find a cheaper source of pelts to make his girl feel special. And it seems this unconventional romantic gesture may have worked.
A photograph from Puke Ariki's Swainson - Woods collection records the marriage of a Mr M (H) Murphy to Winufreda in 1945, just a few years after the cape was made.
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has a similar coat in their collection, although theirs is made from water rats rather than mountain rats. See http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/insidethecollection/2014/02/water-rat-fur-coat-and-a-long-romance for information about their similar example.
This one-off cape was fashioned from the skins of bush rats trapped by Mick Murphy on Mount Taranaki from 1939 -1940. Murphy, who was employed as a possum trapper, sent the skins to a furrier in Palmerston North who made the cape.
Puke Ariki's records are silent on Murphy's motivation for all this effort but recent research suggests a romantic link.
A possum trapper would not have the money to woo his girl with mink and perhaps even his possum skins were too valuable, so it makes sense he had to find a cheaper source of pelts to make his girl feel special. And it seems this unconventional romantic gesture may have worked.
A photograph from Puke Ariki's Swainson - Woods collection records the marriage of a Mr M (H) Murphy to Winufreda in 1945, just a few years after the cape was made.
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has a similar coat in their collection, although theirs is made from water rats rather than mountain rats. See http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/insidethecollection/2014/02/water-rat-fur-coat-and-a-long-romance for information about their similar example.
Accession number
A83.576
Collection type
Public comments
Fantastic object and across the ditch we have a beautiful water-rat fur coat made for a young bride. http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/insidethecollection/2014/02/water-rat-fur-coat-and-a-long-romance
- Lynne McNairn posted 9 years ago.