Scandinavian rugs
Scandinavian textile crafts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rugs have been handmade by craftspeople in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden for centuries, and have played important cultural roles in each of these countries. Contemporary Scandinavian rugs, especially Swedish rugs, are sought after by collectors, largely due to the contributions of designers like Märta Måås-Fjetterström.[1][non-primary source needed] Scandinavian rugs are part of the cultural study of Scandinavia, as they demonstrate the aesthetic and social conventions of that region.
History
Influence
The history of rug-making in Scandinavia reflects the history of how the craft spread throughout the whole of Europe, from its origins as a traditional Eastern art form. The rug-makers of Scandinavia, like many of their other European counterparts, were heavily influenced by the aesthetics as well as the manufacturing techniques of the rug-makers of Anatolia and Asia Minor, with whom the Scandinavians of the Early Middle Ages had considerable contact via international trade routes. By the tenth century of the Common Era, Scandinavians were trading extensively with the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople, creating a considerable interest in fine rugs throughout Scandinavia.[2][page needed]
Between the eighth and twelfth centuries of the Common Era, a large number of traditionally made Byzantine rugs were brought into Northern Europe, including into the Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Because of the harsh climate of those countries, the expertly crafted rugs of the Byzantines were welcomed: the best Byzantine rugs were hung in stately homes for insulation and were frequently used as blankets by Scandinavian noblemen.[3][2][page needed] For a long time, it was this arrangement that dominated in Scandinavia: Oriental rugs were brought in from the Eastern Empire into Scandinavia, with very few original pieces actually being woven in Scandinavia. However, after centuries of exposure to fine Oriental rugs, the people of Scandinavia began to develop their own distinct style of artisanal rug-making.
Development of rya
By the fourteenth century A.D., Scandinavians had developed the art of the Rya (or Ryijy).[4] Unlike the Oriental rugs of the Eastern Empire to which the Scandinavians had become accustomed, Ryas were made thick with shaggy, long pile: these rugs were designed to help the Scandinavian people weather their cold winters. Soon after their development, Ryas were common in Middle Ages Scandinavia, often replacing traditional Oriental rugs as well as cloaks and blankets. Examples of this type of rug have been found at archaeological excavations of old Viking settlements, most notably in York, England.[2][page needed]
In addition to serving as wall coverings and blankets for noblemen and commoners, traditional Ryas were used in marriage ceremonies in Scandinavia throughout the Middle Ages. Ryas woven for weddings often feature the initials of the bride and the groom, the date of the wedding ceremony, a set of double hearts, and symbols and signs that represented the groom's and the bride's families. Wedding Ryas were important, and perhaps represent the most distinct development in Scandinavian rug-making.[5][page needed]
Even as the Scandinavian rug-making tradition matured from the 1500s through the 1800s, more traditionally Oriental themes were incorporated into the finest Scandinavian rugs, with the Tree of Life motif featuring most prominently. Common in Persian rugs, the Tree of Life symbol was adapted by the rug-makers of Scandinavia to represent family trees and ties.[citation needed]
By the 1880s, traditional Scandinavian rugs, especially Ryas, were popular throughout northern Europe. In addition, Sweden had begun to produce a distinctive style of rug, the Rollakan. These pieces were generally flat-woven rugs with elaborate tapestry art, making them very different from the generally abstract, thick-piled Ryas, even as they were used for similar purposes.[citation needed]
While Rya rugs fell out of favor with the nobles of Scandinavia and were subsequently relegated to the domain of folk art,[when?][citation needed] there was a rise in popularity of the traditional Rya rug in the middle years of the twentieth century.[citation needed]
Ryas had been made with abstract, geometric designs for centuries, and had always been made with thick shaggy pile. This design style was particularly appealing to the modernist designers of mid-twentieth-century Europe and North America, who felt that shaggy, colorful carpets worked well to offset the harsher and colder design elements that dominated their own aesthetic: in a home with many straight lines, hard woods, and metals, the soft and colorful design style of Rya rugs gave a sense of warmth and color that often worked to create a homier house. Designers as influential as Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright, were all known to enjoy the effect of a traditional Scandinavian rug.[citation needed]
Rug making techniques
Rya rugs are woven with a combination of techniques that include weaving tapestry, needlework, and carpet knots.[6] Traditionally, Scandinavian Rya rugs were hand-made by artisans who would add symmetric Turkish (or Ghiordes) knots directly to the warp through a specially woven backing. Small holes in the weave allowed the rug-makers to insert evenly spaced knots using a larger tapestry needle.[citation needed]
Ryas were used with the pile facing downward, the better to insulate the wearer. As such, design elements and ornamentation were woven into the back of the rugs, with the pile consisting of solid colors. Over time, this was reversed, creating the colorful Ryas that caught the eye of the mid-twentieth century designers who did so much to popularize them.[citation needed]
One of the most important figures in the history of Scandinavian rug-making was Märta Måås-Fjetterström, a mid-twentieth century rug designer.[1] Working from 1919 until her death in 1941, Måås-Fjetterström focused on creating rugs that communicated the intimacy of the natural world through a modernist approach to lines and geometric figures. Her pieces are in several art museums and respected in the design world.
Modern design
Influenced by Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Scandinavian rugs have remained popular over the past 70 years. Since her death in 1941, the demand for rugs made after her distinctive style has risen.[1] Måås-Fjetterström, upon her death, left more than 700 designs for rugs, along with detailed instructions for how to make them, including the different techniques that should be utilized in their manufacture. In addition to a large body of original work, Måås-Fjetterström inspired artists whose rugs are desirable all over the world.[1]
Rug designed by artists such as Ann-Mari Forsberg, Barbro Nilsson, Marianne Richter, and others are available, and are hand-made in Måås-Fjetterström’s original studio in Båstad, where rugs have been hand-made since 1919.[1]
Many mid-twentieth century designers, interior decorators, and modern visionaries have been impressed by the uniquely sparse and geometric composition of traditional Scandinavian rugs, and including those designed by Måås-Fjetterström and her peers. The attention to detail and treatment of color in Måås-Fjetterström rugs—as well as the approach to geometry and line theory in the most well-known pieces—complemented the design aesthetic of individuals such as Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright. A reason behind the popularity of mid-century Scandinavian rugs is the incorporation of such pieces into these individuals' design work.[1]
Some galleries that specialize in antique rugs, such as the Nazmiyal collection in New York City, buy and sell Scandinavian rugs.[citation needed]