The National Museum of Finland has dedicated many rooms of the museum to the land, the people, and the culture of Finland through the ages, beginning in Prehistoric times. There are exhibitions and films about the lifestyle of the Sámi people in what was formerly known as Lapland. Their centuries-old Duodji craft would have evolved out of function, with a natural inclination toward beauty, developed in isolation from other influences. There are many exhibitions of the lifestyle, furniture, and decorative implements of the agrarian people, the Finnish peasants, focused on the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, before the Industrial Age arrived in Finland in the early 20th century. Many of these household objects and farm implements as well as horse and carriage tackle were beautifully made and lovingly decorated with painting on carved wood. Most amusing and sympathetic were the boxes and chests as well as the standing grandfather clocks. The items displayed in the museum illustrated the people’s high regard for craftsmanship, the novelty of design, and their love of color. Many of the pieces on exhibit would have been  “show” pieces, used to impress, given as gifts, or paraded before neighbors on grand occasions such as festivals, holidays, engagements, or weddings. 

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1.Three examples of Finnish grandfather clocks. In farmhouses, the grandfather clock was seen as the main timepiece. Being a piece of furniture of considerable height, it could not be placed in a room with a low ceiling, but only in the living room, where everybody could see it. Having a clock in a room facilitated a change from a natural time cycle to our  way of measuring time. In the 1770’s and 1780’s, making clocks became more and more popular, with Rococo curvilinear forms of which the Finnish-Swedish variant lived on beyond the change in furniture styles. 2. Small wall-mounted cabinets were mounted to the wall using iron hooks. Originally used in churches during the Middle Ages, these cabinets became, in the 18th and 19th centuries, a common place to keep valuables. Such a cabinet would be taken along when moving. Center, Top:  Collars and Harness Mounts: These were signs of social status and the general affluence of the owner. They were also the demonstration of skill by young  bridegrooms and a great deal of effort went into the decoration of horse collars and mounts in particular. The harness was a prominent item at weddings at on trips to town and church. Center, Bottom: Distaffs and Torti. These items are closely associated with the spread of the spinning wheel in Finland from the 18th century onwards.  Both the distaffs and torti were used to hold the head of the flax or hemp fiber that was to be spun into yarn. Distaffs and Torti were made as engagement gifts and were demonstrations of the maker’s skill. Right Column:  1. Hope Chest with a flat lid from Jurva. c. Late 18th century.Coinciding with decorative painting, the painting of Hope Chests became traditional at the end of the 18th century. Hope Chests were the most decorated of all furniture, with the owners initials and year painted on the inside of the chest. The inside is painted with the initials AHJD and the year, 1804. 2. Bobbin Holder: With the advent of the spinning wheel in Finland in the 18th century, it  became custom to twine yarn with the spinning wheel. The yarn came from bobbins revolving on pins. The bobbin holder developed and soon became a popular wedding gift. 3. Bands and ribbons of different type were already in use in Finland in prehistoric times as belts, in shoes, aprons, and skirt borders, and to fasten many items of clothing in place of buttons. Of the many techniques of making bands, rigid heddle weaving was one of the most developed ones, being known in Europe since the 13th century. In peasant weddings, the bride would give ribbons as presents to the bridegroom’s family and wedding guests. The round shaped heddles used in western Finland were decorated with numerous perforations and were often painted with designs.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                BACK TO MAP  PAGE