Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1982, Page 118

122
ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
Húss= og Bú = stjórnar Félags, II, 1 (Rvk, 1846), bls. 87; Jónas Hallgrímsson, „Illur
Iækur,“ Úrvalsljóð (2. útg. Rvk, 1937), bls. 118. Höfundur vill þakka Halldóri J. Jóns-
syni fyrir að benda á seinna dæmið.
13 Konráð Gíslason, Dönsk orðabók (Kh., 1851), bls. 244.
14 Jónas Jónasson, Ný dönsk orðabók með íslenskum þýðingum (Rvk, 1896), bls. 209; Sig-
fús Blöndal, Islandsk-dansk ordbog (Rvk, 1920—1924), bls. 437.
SUMMARY
An Icelandic Costume Doll 1766
This paper concerns itself with a letter now in the Royal Library in Copenhagen, Thott 953.3
fol., written 20 September 1766 by the head physician of Iceland, Bjarni Pálsson, to Danish privy
councillor O. Thott. The letter, written in Danish, is about a doll dressed in the manner typical of
rather well-to-do Icelandic women of the time, which Bjarni Pálsson, at the request of O. Thott
earlier that year, had obtained for him and was sending to him on this occasion, together with a
list enumerating the various items of the costume.
The letter is the earliest known written source about a doll in Icelandic costume as well as about
a specific doll in Iceland. Only two earlier written Icelandic sources about dolls in general are
known to the present author,4’5 and no dolls older than from the latter half of the 19th century
seem to have survived in Iceland, with the exception of a crude wooden doll excavated in Reykja-
vík about a decade ago.6
In the list can be found some information about women’s costume of the period not clear from
other sources. For instance the word upphlutsfat, which previously, in a source from 1835, had
been observed to mean a petticoat and attached sleeveless bodice both,7 is there used as a term for
the petticoat part only.8 Also the list shows that a second, innermost petticoat, named klocke in
Danish, was worn that early in Iceland; the earliest and only known 18th century source previ-
ously being from 1785.10 The corresponding Icelandic word, klukka, meaning a children’s
garment and a petticoat, is as yet known only from 19th and 20th century sources.12,14
Of interest on the list is the statement concerning the shoes worn by the doll, i.e. that they are
iike the ones used at the time — which must be taken to mean primitive homemade sheepskin
shoes — while in the ”old days“ they were of professional make ”with buckles". This, together
with, among other, archaeological findings of recent years, indicates that professionally made
shoes may have been used to quite some extent in Iceland in earlier times, an interesting subject
for closer study. The letter seems to indicate that the silver jewelry for Icelandic costume dolls
should — or should best — have been obtained in Copenhagen. This may be taken to mean that,
at that time at least, it was common practice to have jewelry made therc, a matter which also
might prove worthwhile to look into more closely.
From where Bjarni Pálsson obtained the doll is not known, nor its fate after leaving Iceland.
Likely it was lost a long time ago. Should it ever be found, however, it would undoubtedly add to
the knowledge of the dress of Icelandic women during the seventh decade of the I8th century.