Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1969, Page 52

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
style“ in her recent great work on Icelandic woodcarving (Bibliotheca Arnamagnæ-
ana, Suppl. V—VI, Copenhagen 1967). To quote Dr. Mageroy: „The expression „Ice-
landic style“ denotes a characteristic plant ornamentation which remained oddly
unchanged for centuries. Typical features are that the branches roll up into more or
less complete spirals, and that the small branches cut across the bigger and
curl around them. There are often animals amongst the scrolls. The leaves
are small with several lobes, and are often numerous. A three-lobed leaf is
very common, the middle lobe being broad and rounded, the two outer ones
narrower and more pointed. This type of leaf occurs on both the Grund chairs.
These apart, there is no ornamentation in „Icelandic style“ in pre-Reformation
woodwork, though it occurs on drinking horns, textiles and not least among the
miniatures in manuscripts“. The absence of the „Icelandic style" in woodcarving
is certainly due to the almost complete lack of preserved woodwork from the 14th
and 15th centuries. Dr. Mageroy did not know any piece which could be dated to the
15th century. The newly discovered fragment from Skjaldfönn helps to fill this
gap since it in all likelihood should be dated to that period. The closest parallels
to the carving are among the drawings in the famous sketchbook in the Arna-
magnaean Collection, a work very likely to be dated to the first half of the 15th
century. The panel shows that the „Icelandic style" was no less fit for decora-
tions on wood than other materials. Though the panel was discovered on an ordinary
farm, the thing of which it is a fragment must certainly originally have belonged
to some rich place, such as for instance Vatnsfjörður.