It is also rather unhelpful that in common English usage, the word tapestry has an extremely elastic set of meanings, most of them having nothing to do with weaving. The dictionary definition is not very specific, simply saying 'worked cloth, woven, embroidered or embellished to hang on walls' which could be almost any textile, handmade or otherwise. I hope to take a photo of me on the new cushions in a couple of years.The term 'tapestry' can cause some confusion. In person, I could definitely see the need for replacement. That project, now halfway complete, was described in this article in the Norwegian Textile Letter, “ Reconstructing Tapestry Cushions for Oslo City Hall.” When I saw photos of the existing pillows earlier, I didn’t think they looked that worn or shabby. It was still fun to see the faded cushions in the main hall that are being reconstructed by five tapestry weavers. It was a disappointing start to an amazing day in Oslo. “But I’ve come from a long way,” I begged, “from Minnesota.” But rules are rules. They were preparing for a reception with 100 people that night, and we couldn’t visit the second floor because of preparations. May not be exacltly like the original, but gives an impression of its original appearance.īut, I couldn’t see the tapestry. The photo below has reconstructed colors. “It looks very different now,” he noted, because it is so faded. When I pulled out my phone and showed him the image of the tapestry I wanted to see, he was surprised. On Monday I went to City Hall, but was halted by a nice, but firm, guard. Ĭan you find the small parts in the large tapestry? I thought it would be a fun project to visit the large tapestry in Oslo City Hall and take photos of the same sections - if they weren’t too high. Atle Pedersen was told that they are samples for the large City Hall tapestry, woven by Else Halling or other weavers at Norsk Billedvev. There are several small Jonsborg-designed tapestries in the Norsk Folkemuseum that are easily found on the wonderful digitaltmuseum.no website. And if you look closely, there are the initials KJ for Kåre Jonsborg and NB for Norsk Billedvev, the studio that wove Jonsborg’s tapestries. I think it looks uneven only because it was photographed on a cushion and not a flat surface. Atle guessed that Steve Isaacson’s piece wasn’t necessarily a sample for the larger tapestry, but probably woven by a weaver with a pattern from Husflid, because it looks irregular in the photo, and likely woven by an amateur. His wife also sold tapestry designs to Husflid. They were sold as patterns for home weavers. He told me that Jonsborg sold many of his small designs, portions of his larger tapestries, to Husflid, the Norwegian Handcraft Association. I then learned interesting facts from Atle Jonsborg Pedersen. It shows that many weaving design decisions are made at the loom. There are slight differences – in the man’s hair, for example. See this page: It is fun to compare the large tapestry with the sample. If the tapestry was woven in 1961, the sample was probably done shortly before that. I believe it is a small piece that was produced as a sample for the larger weaving Sommerdans ( Summer Dance) from 1961. It was easy to verify my guess due to the detailed website created by Jonsborg’s grandson, Atle Jonsborg Pedersen. He is best known for his cartoons for monumental tapestries, especially those in Oslo City Hall. I love his work, both his distinctive mid-century style and his beautiful color palette. My first guess was that it was designed by the noted Norwegian painter and designer Kåre Mikkelsen Jonsborg. Steve Isaacson wrote to ask about a “reportedly Norwegian” tapestry his wife and he owned for twenty years. Sometimes I know nothing, sometimes I have a guess or can provide some background, and occasionally I know the answer, or the likely answer, right off the bat. People with purchased or inherited tapestries of likely Norwegian origin keep finding me and asking if I know anything about their unidentified objects.
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