During my research trip to Norway I found myself longing for a yoga class in the middle of the day, to calm my swirling thoughts and sense of information overload. It is difficult to recap my two full days at the Norsk Folkemuseum last week; there will be a few posts.
On the idyllic 45 minute walk from my Oslo hotel to the museum I passed foreign embassies, cars on busy roads, water, boats, ducks, sheep, cows, forest, and even a statue of a rhinoceros in a field.
Here’s one puzzle that was solved by investigating patterns sold by Husfliden, (the Norwegian Handcraft Association) in the early 1900s, stored in boxes brought out by archivist Stine Nerbø. The archives were acquired by the Norsk Folkemuseum a few years ago. When Husfliden had financial problems, the archives might have been tossed, if it weren’t for Anette Solberg Andresen, who runs the weaving studio at the museum and recognized their value. (Thanks, Anette!)
So my thought was, would I be able to identify unmarked transparent tapestries by followers of Frida Hansen by looking through these boxes? There are many transparent tapestries that have shown up for auction, or are owned by museums or private individuals, that lack attribution. I hope to bring names to some of the unidentified weavings, to honor Frida Hansen by highlighting the work of designers she trained or inspired. When I came to the museum, I brought my notebook with photos of more than 50 transparencies with unidentified designers.
The patterns were stored in flat boxes with tissue between. We pulled off each piece of tissue paper with a feeling of expectation. After looking at the pattern, we turned it over and placed it in the lid of the box and covered it with tissue. The process wasn’t exactly Japanese-tea-ceremony slow, but the pace of our careful care gave me a constant feeling of butterflies. And then, here’s one! I recognized the pattern right away.
A set of portieres in this pattern is provately owned, but registered by the Sverresborg Trøndelag Museum. An archer in one of portieres takes aim at a deer in the other. I think the ones below are in the wrong order. The deer might run into the archer if he doesn’t watch out.
This detail from the museum record shows the beautiful weaving, with details in the face of the archer and festive striped leggings.
The pattern included the name of the designer, which wasn’t in the museum record. Marie Karsten (1872-1953) was a key figure in Norwegian design in the early 1900s. She was the country’s first identified interior designer. She designed cast iron stoves and was known for elegant furniture designs. A description of Karsten posted by the Nasjonalmuseet includes this quote from Art Historian Ole Høgh Gaudernack, “Karsten was a key figure in her time. But her importance has not been adequately recognized and it is important that we do not overlook her achievement as the first important interior architect in the history of Norwegian art and design.”
The patterns held by Husfliden were for the use of members and others. On the back are the conditions: “Copy xxx can be copied for private use for a payment of 10 øre per day. Members can borrow the pattern free of charge for three days. Copying for subleasing or for sale of a completed weaving requires a payment of 5 kroner, and the pattern may be kept up to three days. After that an additional 10 øre per day will be added.” The patterns are mounted on a thin fabric.
That is just one of many fun Norsk Folkemuseum discoveries. To be continued…