Mother Tree is a textile sculpture by Estonian artist Anu Raud (1943 – ). It is composed of Estonian national folk costumes. The skirts on the Mother Tree were hand woven by women of the small Estonian islands of Kihnu and Manija. 

Through time, Estonians have maintained their cultures and their identities. A large part of their identity consists of national songs, folk dances, fairytales and myths, as well as their beautiful national costumes, whose colorful designs have been preserved and transferred from one generation to another. Symbolically, the Mother Tree represents the passing on of traditions based on a rich cultural heritage from one generation of Estonian mothers to another – in colors of joy and grief. It also symbolizes the eternal passing on of life by mothers. 

Anu Raud is an Estonian textile artist and author. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts, formerly the State Art Institute, and has lectured in many art academies. Her work is exhibited in the Heimtail Museum in Estonia.

This textile sculpture was presented to the UN on the 21st of October 1995 by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri (1929 – 2006), and accepted on behalf of the United Nations by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1922 – 2016).

During the presentation ceremony, it was said of this Estonian piece: “Through their language, culture, literature, and dance and music, the Estonia people have proclaimed and maintained their distinctive national identity over the centuries.”