The British Arts and Crafts Movement was a major influence on handcrafts made by the Leviny women at Buda. This Movement spread knowledge of craft techniques in the decorative arts and encouraged women to partake in fields that had traditionally been the domain of men, such as metalcraft and woodwork. The Leviny women studied art, design and craft techniques at the Castlemaine School of Mines from the 1890s to the early 1900s and this boot stool, hand-carved by Gertrude, is an example of the influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement on her decorative art. See: Zilles, Lauretta (2010), Buda and the Leviny Family, Castlemaine: Buda Historic Home & Garden Inc.This is a rare example of a unique hand-carved boot stool made in Australia by Gertrude Leviny in the British Arts and Crafts Movement style at the turn of the twentieth century.Timber boot stool, hand-carved by Gertrude Leviny. Made using the 'chip carving' technique, with dragon heads on upright at one end, and plant design in relief on the seat. Timber finish has a blackened effect.'K/40' (Old Registration Number)gertrude leviny, wood carving, arts and crafts movement, buda, castlemaine, dragon's heads, c1900, domestic furniture, castlemaine school of mines

Photo - Bertha Leviny (seated centre) with five of her daughters L-R: Gertrude, Hilda, Mary (standing), Dorothy and Kate. Her grandson James Leviny is at Bertha's knee. The pet dog is an Australian terrier. Bertha was the wife of noted colonial silversmith and jeweller, Ernest Leviny. Together, they raised a family of ten children in their home Buda, Castlemaine. The five unmarried daughters pursued their interests in various creative pastimes linked with the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.One of the few photographs of Bertha Leviny and her daughters taken together after the death of Bertha's husband, Ernest, a prominent Australian silversmith. The Leviny daughters were artistic in their own right, following the principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Three of the daughters entered works in the 1907 Exhibition of Women's Work held at the Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne.Silver gelatin, toned print. Black and white photograph of a group of six women, a child and a dog. The women are seated on and around a garden bench with the tennis pavilion in the background. All are smiling at the dog which is standing on its back legs in the foreground. The little boy's face is blurred from movement during the exposure.Handwritten in ink (verso): "At Buda 1906"bertha leviny, mary leviny, gertrude leviny, hilda leviny, dorothy leviny, kate leviny, james leviny, australian terrier dog, kodak box brownie camera, edwardian costume, buda, 1906, photograph, portrait, leviny women, castlemaine