Zum Andenken an Hulda Lauterbach (a souvenir for Hilda Lauterbach)

Translating loosely as ‘a souvenir for Hilda Lauterbach’, this work of art is made almost entirely of human hair – golden, auburn and brunette. It was made in the late nineteenth century in the Lutheran village of Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills by Alma Loessel, a maker and educator who was born in the village in 1866. The daughter of a German-born Lutheran pastor and school teacher, Loessel made the hirsute bouquet for her young friend Eva Rosina Hilda (Hulda) Lauterbach, who was born in Woodside in 1884.

While hair art has its origins as a votive art form – as a tribute to the departed and/or as a talisman for the living – this hair work was made for a young child and features a large silk ribbon, the type usually reserved for braids. Perhaps the bouquet includes the hair of both the maker and the former owner? The work showcases not only an array of hair colour but an impressive range of techniques, with delicate hair strands meticulously looped, knotted and curled to form petals, leaves and a large ornate butterfly. Rarely does the name of the maker survive in the case of art forms pejoratively considered to be decorative, amateur or ‘feminine’. This work is a rare instance of both the name of the maker and her female inspiration being remembered and celebrated.

Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs