Scandinavian Rugs and Their History

The earliest Scandinavian rugs, also known as Rya rugs, were made as far back as the 1400s. Persian and Oriental rugs had been brought to Europe for many years and made their way up North to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Eventually, the Scandinavian people began making their own rugs using the knots they saw in the Persian and Oriental rugs. The dates were woven, or tied into the rugs and that is how they have been dated. These vintage rugs were either woven or knotted and they had different uses. The woven rugs were used as rugs to cover the floors or hung on walls to help insulate the interior of the house from the bitter cold winters in that part of the world. The knotted rugs were used on the beds with the pile side down to provide greater insulation during the cold winter nights. The pile is the loose ends of each knot that are seen on the surface of the rug.

Marriages and Rya Popularity

When marriages occurred, the bride would have started her rug, long before the actual wedding day. During the process of knotting the rug, she would have included the date the marriage took place, the name of the bride and groom, and sometimes information about their ancestors or their families. Wealthy people used the rugs as cloaks and blankets. Their popularity started to dwindle when cheaper imitation rugs flooded the market. Latch-hooked rugs became popular and could be made quicker and with less money at this time as well.

Vintage Rugs Today

Today, you can find vintage Scandinavian rugs in stores and homes across the world. They lend themselves to the clean, smooth, and sometimes harsh and industrial lines and décor of contemporary interior designs by bringing in color and texture. You might even find one of these rugs in your grandmother’s attic. To clean them the traditional way, you take them out of the house when there is snow outside, and lay them down on the snow. Then you can beat them or stomp on them. The snow will cling to the dirt and pull it out of the fibers. Your rug will be good for another hundred years.

13 comments:

Raya11:41 AM
That would be a perfect souvenir to bring home from a trip! That cleaning the rug is new to me-- very interesting. And wow, they'd last a hundred years!! That's very impressive.
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Rye Yhanne12:01 PM
That's interesting, they look more of wall decor than rugs. Ate Raya was right they are perfect souvenir as well as gift to friends.
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mhie@smarkydew1:20 PM
Interesting post, my mother-in-law loves this kind of stuff. I have an idea what to get for her.
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MaryJane Tauyan7:02 PM
wow I've been to many shops all over asia and would deifntly wanted to notice one of this rugs and have a look!
http://www.tauyanm.com
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Chubskulit Rose7:04 PM
Scandinavian rugs are beautiful. I like the design!
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Lovely10:31 PM
i'm a fan of vintage..i definitely would be happy to have one of these as collection.
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papaleng2:37 AM
I know of Persian rug but not the Scandinavian rug. As I look at it, eh para lang wall decor.
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lencilicious5:41 AM
The way of cleaning stated here is very unique but definitely makes sense. This kind of rug is a very interesting one.
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Marie12:39 PM
Just heard about this and wow!!! It's interesting! :)
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Unknown2:05 PM
Nice culture! Marriage commemorated through rugs. Cool!
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Kulasa9:51 AM
Great to know the history Of Scandinavian rugs. I wonder whether I have the capacity to produce awesome rugs.
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Unknown10:17 AM
It’s such interesting information about Scandinavian rugs.
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Doris Leslie Blau10:45 AM
You can find some complementary information on our web site, as well as more examples of their extraordinary craftsmanship

dorisleslieblau.com
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