Te Papa Tongarewa – The Museum of New Zealand

Several of Margaret’s works are held by Te Papa Tongarewa as part of their permanent collection. All images on this page are used with kind permission of Te Papa Tongarewa – The Museum of New Zealand and are copyright. The links within the text will take you to the original images as they are displayed on the Te Papa website.

  • Christening Gown and Bonnet
    White handspun and knitted fine lace merino christening gown
    Image copyright Te Papa Tongarewa. Used with permission

    This set was commissioned by Te Papa in 1997. The gown and bonnet 
    use a particularly rich collection of the unique designs Margaret had developed for the Bush Bouquet shawl gifted to the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1982. These include kowhai, rata, ribbon wood and fern. The bodice shaping is distinctive and the ruffles used on the bonnet also introduced a new technique.

  • White Stole
    Handspun and knitted white lace stole
    Image copyright Te Papa Tongarewa used with permission

    The white stole was created in 1995 and purchased by Te Pape in 1997.  The stole is hand spun and knitted fine merino and brings together elements of the Shetland lace tradition and the textile art forms of New Zealand such as Taniko weaving.

  • Coloured Stole
    Handspun and knit lace stole with sea motifs in teal and gold.
    Image copyright to Te Papa Tongarewa. Used with permission

    This stole Stole (1999) was created at a time Margaret was exploring images of the sea near her home in Lyttleton. The lace pattern is a combination of waves and fish , in two colours.

    Detail of handspun and knit lace stole showing detail of lace design
    Image copyright to Te Papa Tongarewa. Used with permission
  • Scarf
    Hand spun and knit coloured wool scarf
    Image copyright to Te Papa Tongarewa. Used with permission

    This Scarf was knitted by Margaret for James Mack (Galvan Macnamara as he chose to be known later in life) Margaret had met him at the time he was curator at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt and he was enormously influential in her transition of her moving from her self perception as a spinner and knitter to seeing herself as a fibre artist. He wore this scarf frequently and it was part of the collection he bequeathed to Te Papa on his death.