The History of
Hardangersom (Hardanger) Part I
by Rita Vainius
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Table runner, linen, mid-20th century, 29 x
15" Made by Sigrid Melloh in Beloit, Wisc. - Full view and
detail
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Hardanger, known in Norway as Hardangersom or Hardangersaum,
is a form of whitework (hvitsom or kvitsaum) combined with drawn
and counted thread work. It is executed on evenweave fabric,
usually linen or cotton, employing linen or pearl cotton threads.
Though traditionally worked with natural colored linen and thread
(white or cream), additional embroidery could be colored as was
the case in smoyg (pattern darning) and svartsom (blackwork).
Earlier in this century, this type of needlework was known as
Norwegian drawn work and takes its current name from a town on
the southwestern coast of Norway, in a mountainous area at the
head of the Hardanger fjord. Because of the unique geographical
properties of this district, Hardanger developed a very distinctive
style and technique exclusive to this part of the country. Flax
grown locally was harvested, carded and spun into linen fabric
and thread. This home processed linen was often a little on the
gray side in color. In the rural community, Hardangersaum was
first used for parts of the bunad (festive folk costume), including
apron borders, trim on the collars and cuffs of blouses and the
handaplagg (bridal head covering), employing the techniques of
utskurdsaum (cutwork) and uttrekksaum (drawnwork). As household
linens came into common usage, it became a favorite decoration
for tablecloths, napkins, towels, bedspreads, pillows and curtains.
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| Shirt waist, cotton, 1900-1910
said to have been made in Norway. |
Hardanger has a geometrical character, whose angularity and straight
lines are softened by additional stitchery. The traditional designs
are based on several shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, diamond,
diagonal, zig-zag and cross. These could be combined in a limitless
number of ways but the designs produced were never pictorial.
Patterns varied greatly from one family to another and from village
to village. Eventually specific designs came to be associated
with specific places.
 The
historical origins of Hardanger are rather obscure. It's roots
are said to have sprung from ancient Persia and Asia where a
similar technique was worked on fine gauze netting with colored
silk and metallic threads. Apparel which incorporated this type
of embroidery was worn only by nobility. This art was popularized
during the Renaissance, having been introduced into Europe through
Byzantium from other Asiatic cultures. During the Renaissance,
there was increased interest in geometric and ornamental patterns,
some depicting human and animal figures. As the use of linen
for making garments increased, the technique was spread by the
distribution of pattern books and imported textiles which were
copied by local artisans. These books were available from Germany
and Italy. The best known was Munsterbuchlein by Peter
Quentell, published in approximately 1528.
The technique is believed to have traveled first to Italy where
the exquisite lace motifs of Punto Taglito and Punto Rialto were
executed and later evolved into the Italian reticella patterns,
which eventually developed into the Punto Aria patterns of Venetian
lace. Assisi embroidery was already coming into its own in the
1200-1300's. The stitches, Holbein and cross, were worked with
silk in many colors. In the 1500's designs were worked on linen
with bright colored silks and the motifs were similar to those
used in Norwegian blackwork. Some traditional Hardanger patterns
exhibit an Assyrian and Egyptian influence which can be traced
to the Vikings' forays far into the Mediterranean Sea. The Crusaders
of the Middle Ages may even have been instrumental in introducing
this type of embroidery to parts of Scandinavia. Another motif
found in Hardanger, the eight-pointed star is also a common element
in the embroidery of India as well as being a universal symbol.
This star has, throughout recorded history, signified good fortune
in virtually every culture throughout the world. The eight points
of the star also signify the eight directions of the compass,
representing all the different directions one may follow to find
happiness. Specifically throughout Scandinavia, the eight-pointed
star has been a magical invocation and protective ideogram going
back to pagan times.
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| Table cloth, cotton, early 20
th c., 37 x33" . Made in the U. S. Full and detail. |
As these embroidery techniques and the textiles incorporating
them spread northward through Europe, they evolved into Norwegian
Drawn Work, Danish and Dutch Hedebo, English Ayshire work and
Ruskin lacework. The Hedebo work dates to about the 1700's. The
Norwegian form of this embroidery, now known as Hardangersom
(meaning work from Hardanger area), developed and flourished
between 1650 and 1850. True  Hardanger
is a direct offshoot of reticella embroidery. Reti means net
and the Italian reticella consisted of a background of double
drawn work and cutwork embroidered with motifs of squares, stars,
crosses, arrows and wheels which filled the openings. This embroidery
was also done white-on-white. The technique first sprang up in
Rindalen in Nordmore, Norway in the 1790's but it was much more
substantial looking than the traditional reticella.
The Industrial Revolution was a major influence on all textile
production, needlework and other fiber arts, but in Norway the
old traditions of self-sufficiency were practiced until the beginning
of the twentieth century. As a happy result of this extended
insularity from modern industry, Norwegian folk embroidery remains
to the present day, true to its heritage and original form.
Around 1895 representatives from several of the larger thread
companies visited Norway and were introduced to Hardanger embroidery.
Since the names of the stitches, techniques and patterns were
not under copyright, these concerns copied the local patterns
and began to mass produce booklets on Hardanger embroidery designs.
Hardanger was formally introduced to the world in 1900 at the
Paris exposition where an apron with Hardanger embroidery by
Brita Skalveit of Aga, in the Hardanger district, was displayed
and won an award.
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| Pin cushion, cotton, early 20th
century, 15 x 7". Made in Strom, Wisc. |
Part II of
The History of Hardangersom on our May website
Examples of vintage Hardanger embroideries shown are from the
private collections of Rosalyn Watnemo of Nordic Needle, Lillill Thuve of Thuve-Stua and from the extensive holdings
of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, which is tucked
away in the small town of Decorah in northeast Iowa. Vesterheim
is translated as "Western Home" in Norwegian. This
institution is one of the outstanding ethnic museums of America,
specializing in the preservation of Norwegian-American art, crafts,
artifacts, tools and architecture, telling the story of Norwegian
immigrants, encompassing their home and life in Norway, their
journey to America and their adaptation to a new home in the
Midwestern part of this country. In the U.S., the women from
Norway created some of the loveliest Hardanger embroideries in
the world. The textile area of the museum exhibits a bunad (festive
folk costume) from several different parts of Norway, as well
as examples of weaving, tatting, blackwork, crocheting, knitting,
rosesaum (rosework), and hvitsom (whitework, of which Hardanger
embroidery is a part). The bunads from different parts of Norway
can vary greatly in style. The typical Hardanger, or west coast
costume, consists of an apron (often with an embroidered panel),
long sleeved blouse of white linen with embroidered collar and
cuffs, long black wool skirt and a red woolen sleeveless bodice.
The bunads of the Hardanger district are the only ones with this
now famous, embroidery technique. The examples of Hardangersom
at Vesterheim encompass a collection of works dating from the
late 1700's to the present as well as several trousseaus, spanning
from 1880 to the early 1920's.
For more information on Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum located at 523 W. Water Street, P.O. Box 379, Decorah, Iowa,
52101-0379, please call them at (319) 382-9681 or visit their
website at http://www.vesterheim.org
Information for this story was gathered from many sources, most
notably The Hardangersom of Vesterheim Vol. II by Carolynn
Craig Gustafson, which is available from Nordic Needle. Special
thanks also to Vicki McEntaffer of Kunsten Needle Art, Roz Watnemo of Nordic Needle and Laurann Gilbertson,
curator of textiles at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum,
for generously sharing their time, knowledge and related materials
concerning the history of Hardanger embroidery.
For more information on Rosalyn Watnemo and Nordic
Needle see this month's Designer Spotlight and Shop Focus. Nordic Needle has some vintage Hardanger table
and bed linens for sale, which can be viewed on their website
at http://www.nordicneedle.com/antique.htm
For more information on Vicki McEntaffer, Kunsten Needle Art, Lillill Thuve or Thuve-Stua designs see this month's Innovation Gallery Feature.
For those interested in other Norwegian cultural events, please
see the Sons of Norway website at http://www.sofn-district6.com
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: No part of this feature story nor
the included designs can be reproduced or distributed in any
form (including electronic) or used as a teaching tool without
the prior written permission of the CARON Collection Ltd. or
the featured designers.
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