New York, September 22,
2012 – When one thinks of regions of the world with a long history of
hand-woven rugs, Scandinavia may not be the
first place that comes to mind.
But Scandinavian rugs not only have a centuries-old history,
and some fascinating links to Oriental rugs, they also currently are much
sought after by interior designers.
The renewed interest focuses particularly on vintage rugs
woven in the 1920s through 1970s. That was a time when Scandinavian weavers
attracted international recognition both for their pile rugs (called Rya) and
flat-woven rugs (called Rollakan).
The Scandinavians did so by experimenting with abstract designs
while continuing to weave with traditional methods – producing rugs that
simultaneously offer the appeal of both the old and the new.
Above is a photo of a carpet designed by renowned Swedish
weaver Marta Maas Fjatterstorm. Below is another by the same designer. Both are
available from Nazmiyal Collection in New
York.
Interior decorators, he says, see the rugs as the perfect
compliment to the wave of nostalgia that is now sweeping the design world for
the styles of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.
Those decades, whose style is increasingly referred to as
"mid-century" modern, was characterized by maximum experimentation
with Minimalism.
The result was bold and striking furnishings and decors, but not necessarily cozy and comfortable living environments.
The result was bold and striking furnishings and decors, but not necessarily cozy and comfortable living environments.
The vintage Scandinavian rugs woven during those times offered a solution to the contradiction. They were modern in design but rich in texture and color.
"They draw a room together," Nazmiyal says. "They
can transfer a sparse and minimal space to cozy and luxurious without changing the
overall style."
He notes that one of the reasons the rugs have that power is
that their creators were schooled in industrial design but, at the same time,
were rebelling against too much industrialization. So, they created their own
unique style that combined Modern and Art Deco with the warmer, more human
influences of their own folk art and regional history.
Here is a Swedish Rollakan, available from NazmiyalCollection in New York.
Nazmiyal, who has personally traveled to Sweden to learn more about the rugs
and acquire top pieces, can reel off some of the key names behind them.
Among the most famous are Elsa Gullberg, born in 1886 and
one of the earliest Swedish textile designers connected to the modern design
movement; Ethal Halvar Andersson, now a nonagenarian; Marta Maas Fjatterstrom,
who got her start at a regional Arts and Crafts Fair and later attracted the
patronage of Ludvig Noble, the brother of the founder of the Noble Prize; and
that is just to name a few.
Many of the women went on to train others as apprentices and
to found workshops, some of which continue today.
Below is a Finnish Rya with abstract circles and lines.
It is available from Nazmiyal Collection in New York.
Behind the vintage rugs is a whole history of rug-making
that goes back hundreds of and contains plenty of surprises.
No-one knows exactly when pile weaving began in Scandinavia but the earliest known examples were not rugs
but sleeping blankets. They were woven to take the place of sleeping furs,
which had been used since time immemorial but have the disadvantage of being
hard to wash.
Interestingly, the earliest regional pile weavings date to
around the same time Scandinavians would have become acquainted with rugs in
the Orient. That was in the Middle Ages, when Vikings were routinely sailing
down the Volga to Byzantium
on trading expeditions.
One of the earliest surviving oriental rugs in Europe, in
fact, was found in Sweden
in 1925. It is the Marby rug, named after the abandoned provincial church where
it was found cut into two pieces and long forgotten.
Nazmiyal believes that Scandinavians may have taken their
inspiration for pile sleeping blankets from Anatolian "Yataks," which
share the same characteristics and function. If so, it would be another
unexpected link between East and West that underlines again how much is shred
within the world's textile culture.
What is certain is that over time Scandinavians' use of
shaggy rugs went from sleeping on the pile and decorating the back of the
textile to flipping them over and using them as bedspreads with a decorative pile.
Eventually, the bedspreads moved to the floor and became rugs.
Tracing all the design changes in Scandinavian pile and flat
weaves is impossible to do here. But, in broad terms, things moved from
originally simply working the owner's initials into striped geometric designs,
to patterns with crosses to, around 1690, Baroque floral patterns.
Over the centuries, the use of highly decorative pile
bedding rose to the heights of becoming a status symbol for the nobility in
Sweden before losing that esteem in the 17th century and becoming
popular as folk bedding instead.
By the time the Scandinavian rugs reached our ea, they had
absorbed so many design influences, including from formal Western art, folk
art, and imported oriental rugs, that they developed – and continue to develop
– a rich vocabulary of their own.
It is that rich design vocabulary, their use of a broad
color palette, and their ability to compliment a wide range of styles that
brings vintage Scandinavian rugs back into our homes today.
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