A History of Scandinavian Rugs

Scandinavian rugs

Scandinavian rugs: The Danes, Swedes and Norwegians were the "northern people" of the Scandinavian countries. Originally, they spoke a common language and shared similar artistic expressions. They were simple people who did not travel to foreign lands. As opposed to their European neighbors, court life and the tastes of kings and aristocracy did not dictate their styles and ideas. As a result their customs and art were left untouched from outside influence. These rugs were originally intended to be used for warmth as bed covers, cushion covers or wraps rather than on the floor. The rugs were either flat weaves or tapestry weave. The knot was similar to the Turkish knot but was an original invention. Warp threads were wool, flax or hemp. The early rugs were made with no design; they were crudely woven, shaggy pieces all in one color. Gradually, zigzag lines, checks and geometric forms appeared. One of the first decorative motifs was the cross as well as, some crudely woven human figures. These rugs were unique; no two rugs were the same. They were often an important part of the marriage dowry. The initials of the couple, the marriage date, double hearts and representations of the bride and groom were often included in the design. Beginning in the mid 17th century the tree of life, flowers (with an emphasis on tulips), birds and animals were introduced.

The Scandinavian region became acquainted with rugs at an early period. In the early Middle Ages flatwoven rugs and textiles probably found their way home with Viking merchants active in Russia and the Byzantine Empire. In their centuries that followed such trade ties introduced the knotted pile carpet from Ottoman Turkey. Indeed one of the earliest surviving Turkish carpets comes from the parish church at Marby, Sweden. From this early period onward, Scandinavians began to produce rugs for themselves, inspired initially by the imported products, and developing gradually into a distinctive northern idiom. Flatwoven tapestry rugs or coverlets became an established type, especially in Sweden, where they came to be known as “Rollakan.” Pile rugs or Ryiji (Rya), often with a long shaggy nap were produce in Norway and and Sweden, and above all Finland. The earliest examples are from Norway; these were monochromatic. Late medieval records suggest that Swedes tended to import Ryas from Finland, but they were made in Sweden as well. The prototypes of these long pile rugs may well have been Turkish, the so-clalled “yatak” or bedding rug. This seems especially likely since the Scandinavian examples were also used as bedding insulation. At times they too were woven with pile on both sides for added warmth, like Turkish yataks. They even display the same kind of bold, graphic patterning as the Turkish examples.

From the 1600's on, Ryas were also made with abstractly rendered animal or heraldic imagery, which seems to go back to Medieval European and Oriental traditions, like the Turkish animal carpet from Marby. Stylized floral designs were also popular. This entire repertoire has survived in Ryas right into the twentieth century, but after 1700, the Rya ceased to be popular among the elite and became a staple of Scandinavian folk culture. Norwegian examples in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries also came to reflect contemporary western European design, while those made in Sweden and Finland adhered more to the old abstract geometric tradition. Indeed, in these latter areas old patterns continued to be made well into the twentieth century. After the Second World War, the old style abstraction gave way to modernism, reflecting the prominence of Scandinavian rug designers like the Finns, Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen.