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SW 66
SW 66

Carriage Cushion Cover (Floral Wreaths with Facing Birds)

SW 66

Sweden, Scania, Torna district

late 18th century

SW 66

Carriage Cushion Cover (Floral Wreaths with Facing Birds)

SW 66

Sweden, Scania, Torna district

late 18th century

dove-tail tapestry

49.5 x 113.5 cm

The depiction of vases of flowers – accompanied by pairs of facing birds – in floral roundels was popular not just in Scania in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also throughout Scandinavia from the Middle Ages. Indeed, similar designs have been used throughout the world for over two thousand years. The beautiful narrow bands of small triangles at each end of this tapestry are also found on other examples.

V. Hansen, Swedish Textile Art: Traditional Marriage Weavings from Scania: The Khalili Collection, London 1996, cat. 7, pp.36–7.