Tankard, Norwegian, 1700-1800

Painted wood composed of staves bound by withes and carved with floral designs. The cover is also carved with gadroons and floral ornament about the central knob. The handle is similarly decorated and the whole stands on three carved feet. On the bottom is carved 'M I D 1796.'

Such items became hightly collectable in the late 19th century. This was collected by Herbert Ingleby, of Valentines, Ilford, London, who in 1891 sold to the museum part of his collection of Norwegian objects. A curator noted on file: 'I went to Valentines at Mr Inglesby's invitation, on Saturday last & saw the remainder of his collection of Norwegian objects, which he has gathered together during his travels in Norway. On the whole, the specimens which he has left at the Museum appear to me to be a very fair selection from his collection, most of the forms being represented as well as the designs.'

Richard Adamson, curator, wrote on 6th October 1891: 'This is a very interesting collection of Norwegian examples of wood carving and would be of use for circulation to schools. The price asked is very reasonable. I recommend the purchase of the selection made. The total is £66.0.0.' The objects selected are museum numbers 569 to 602-1891. Six further objects were sent to the Museum of Science and Art at Edinburgh, and five to Dublin Museum. Registered File: Ingleby, Herbert.

Collections of Norwegian folk art were formed both in Norway and elsewhere in Europe and America from the 1880s onwards. In Norway folk arts were seen as symbolic of Norwegian nationalism, since Norway was still under Swedish rule until it gained independence in 1905. In Norway there was increased interest in traditional culture. Collecting and displaying peasant folk art in national museums, particularly the Norsk Folkemuseum near Oslo, founded in 1894, and the development of 'Husflid ' (literally ‘House Industry’) was seen as a way of promoting Norway's economic development. In other parts of Europe, designers looked to Norwegian peasant crafts as a relatively untouched folk tradition. Wooden artifacts were admired for the visual impact of their bold and simple designs

The stave construction of this tankard, where vertical panels are slotted together along bevelled edges and bound togehter around a grooved base, was the most common form of construction for Norwegian domestic vessels from the Middle Ages on.

593-1891