A Mountain Ash tree grows in our Minneapolis yard, and it has come to remind me of the woven berries of Norwegian weaver Aagot Lund (1881–1962). She exhibited wool open warp transparent tapestries, in the technique created by Frida Hansen, at the 1914 Jubileumsutstillingen (Jubilee Exhibition). In August 2024, I had the privilege of viewing two of her rognebær (Mountain Ash berry) transparencies in the storage area of the Norsk Folkemuseum. Lund was both the designer and the weaver of these works. Until then, I had known them only through a single “official” photograph on the Digitaltmuseum.no website.
So WOW–when I saw this portiere in person, I was stunned by the beautiful saturated colors.
The clusters of berries were formed of alluring small squares. The subtle variations in the berry colors are delectable.
When I held a transparent tapestry workshop at the Norsk Folkemuseum in September 2025, I was able to see Aagot Lund’s beautiful berries again. One of the students cleverly asked to have the tapestry draped over the table, so she could shine a light from behind and see the transparent effect.
The Norsk Folkemuseum also has a smaller transparency in the same pattern, listed as an ovnsskjerm [oven or fireplace screen].
What materials were used? The handwritten record book listed doubled 3-ply wool yarn for the warp, and 2-ply wool yarn for the weft.
You can examine the thick twisted warp and the weaving close-up in this section with the weaver’s initials.
I love the geometric feel of Lund’s little kelim-like squares. I’ll try it out myself, sometime soon.