2025 Scandinavian Icons Collectible Ornament, The Nordic Rosemaled Trunk
The Nordic Rosemaled Trunk has been around a long time in Scandinavia. Hand made wooden trunks were the earliest ways of storing and transporting your belongings. They were usually elaborately hand painted in rosemaling with a person's name and farmstead included in the artwork.
The reason for the amount of painted items we see in Scandinavia is because any harvested wood that was of furniture quality was sold in town to furniture makers. That left the wood with knots and uneven grains that were available for home uses. Minimally they were painted with a paint that was easily made from natural elements. This covered up the imperfections in the wood and help preserve it during daily use.
Over the long winters to help pass the time and to show of one's skills rosemaling started to be used to decorate the items and add personalization to the piece. Each of the regions developed their own style of rosemaling and coloring.
During the time of emigration to the US they took on special importance. They were where one put all our belongings and stored them on ship for the long voyage to America. The domed top served to keep water from standing on the top and kept your belongings safe and dry on the long journey many times up to 4 months.
2025 is the 200th Anniversary of first emigrants from Scandinavia. On July 4, 1825, the sloop Restauration set sail from Stavanger, Norway, carrying 52 Norwegian emigrants aboard, marking the beginning of the organized emigration from Norway to America. Approximately 900,000 Norwegian emigrants traveled westward between 1825 and 1920. No other Nordic country had such a high emigration rate relative to its population. Nearly as many Norwegians emigrated during this period as the total population of Norway in 1801! To celebrate this trip on July 4th a replica of the original sloop Restauration set sail to retrace the original route taken by the ship. It will arrive in New York Harbor on October 9th. This year's ornament celebrates both the Nordic Trunk but also the 200 years of emigration to the US.
Traditonal Scandinavian blue silkscreen design on a 2.75" white porcelain disk. Gift boxed with history.
