Bedcover (Ryijy)

Bedcover (Ryijy)

early 1800s
Artist
unrecorded artist
Country
Finland
Object
rug, bed cover
Medium
woven wool and linen with wool pile
Accession Number
1948.60
Credit Line
Neusteter Textile Collection: National Museum of Finland, by exchange

Unrecorded artist, Finland, Bedcover (Ryijy), early 1800s. Woven wool and linen with wool pile; 70 1/2 in 54 1/12 in. Neusteter Textile Collection at the Denver Art Museum: National Museum of Finland, by exchange, 1948.60.

Dimensions
length: 70 1/2 in, 179.0700 cm; width: 54 1/2 in, 138.4300 cm
Department
Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion
Collection
Textile Arts and Fashion-European
Shaggy, long pile weavings were used for centuries in Scandinavia primarily as utilitarian bed covers, but the decorative possibilities of ryijy (rya in Sweden) were explored most fully in Finland. A valuable possession, this heavy cover was probably commissioned as part of a dowry. The bride and groom sometimes stood on ryijys during the wedding ceremony and then used them as bedcoverings. Patterned examples like this ryijy might also be hung on a wall.
Known Provenance
National Museum of Finland, Helsingfors/Helsinki; Collection of the Denver Art Museum by exchange, 1948.
Exhibition History
  • "Masterpieces from the Textile Collection" (Inaugural Exhibition), November 15, 1997- April 26, 1998 (DAM)
  • "Cover Story," May 17, 2013 - April 27, 2014 (DAM)