My friend Anne Whidden forwarded me a post about a transparency that was attributed, possibly, to Frida Hansen. It’s for sale by F J Hakimian in New York. Anne is always trolling auction sites in her research for the excellent Swedish Rug Blog.
Anne asked whether I was familiar with it–I was not. I wrote to Anniken Thue, who wrote Frida Hansen’s biography, and asked whether she knew of it. No, she verified, it is not a Frida Hansen piece (and said she would write to Hakimian). Details about the hanging are here. It is 8’7″ high and 4’8″ wide. I wrote for the price; it’s out of my range at $28,000!
It’s lovely; the smaller photos posted on the FJ_Hakimian Instagram site showed the colors even more beautifully. I would love to see it in person. The sections of open warp are not extensive–it’s mostly a woven tapestry with small, selected areas left transparent.
It’s fun to see the close-up shots. I especially love the slits left between the blossoms of the flowers. When you look at the piece as a whole, the slits make each petal pop, almost like the flowers are three-dimensional.
Looking at vintage rugs on the FJ Hakimian site is sure to distract you from whatever you were supposed to be doing instead. There are so many Scandinavian rugs. This is a pretty rug. Details are here.
It is listed as a Swedish flat weave carpet from 1913. Isn’t is reminiscent of these two tapestries by Frida Hansen at the Stavanger Art Museum? Stylized roses were a common Art Nouveau motif.
Incredibly beautiful … may spend some time there this evening!Martha
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