Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1984, Page 94

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
9. Mageray, op. cit. II, 288. mynd.
10. Ársrit Sögufélags ísfirðinga 1974, bls. 114—115 og 117.
11. Vandamálið hefur áður vcrið rætt af höfundi í op. cit. I, bls. 95, tilvitnun 24, og bls.
105. Ennfremur afjóhanni Gunnari Ólafssyni í Ársriti Sögufélags ísfirðinga 1974, bls.
115-117.
SUMMARY
An Icelandic bridal pew attd its relatives
The articlc deals with a group of three carvcd bridal pcws from the 18th ccntury, all
from Vestfirðir, Iccland. Pcws of this kind wcre used as scats for the bridal couplc during
thc marriagc cercmony in church. The pcw which was the last to comc to light (figs 1-3)
is dcalt with in particular dctail. Until rcccntly it was in privatc owncrship in Norway,
but it has now passcd to the National Muscum of Iceland in Rcykjavík. It bcars an incised
“ANNO“ and the year 1739, as well as an inscription (part of a prayer) which is hidden
away and carved in thc Icelandic “höfðaletur" lettering. Most of thc carvcd decoration,
howevcr, is ornamcntal. It is essentially vinc-like ornamentation, partly open-work and
partly relief. Thc vine ornamentation on the upper plank of the backrest is of mcdiæval,
Romancsquc type, whcreas thc ornamentation on thc outside of thc side planks of thc
pcw is morc naturalistic and bears the stamp of the Early (gristly) Baroquc style (cf. a
schematic drawing of gristly Baroque vinc ornamcntation, fig. 4). As is so often the case
in folk art, remindcrs of several stylistic periods are united in the samc objcct. Thc pew
also has traccs of pre-Romanesque ornamentation (the twisted ropc motif along thc upper
part of thc back) and Rcnaissancc ornamentation (the gouged friczc on the side planks).
With rcgard to thc othcr two bridal pews, which havc related carving, wc know that
onc (figs 5-6) originates from Hraun church in Dýrafjörður and thc othcr (figs 7-8) “from
a church in Vestfirðir, most probably fronr Dýrafjörður. “ Both had endcd up in privatc
owncrship in Denmark. The same applies to a church chair (fig. 9), which is also carvcd.
In 1975 the first-mentioncd pew (figs 5-6) and the chair werc donatcd to the Vcstfirðir
Muscum in ísafjörður, whilc thc othcr onc has becn inhcritcd by its prescnt owner in
Lund, Swcdcn. Thc carvcd parts of thc backs of the two pews wcre possibly turned
round at a secondary stagc of construction, so that thc decoration was originally worked
ott tlie reverse side of the back, as in the case of thc pew from 1739 and similar pews from
other parts of Iceland.
Thc pcw from 1739 is the only onc of the three bcaring a date, and it appcars to be the
oldest. It is thc only one with vine ornamentation of mcdiæval typc. This ornamcntation
(on the upper plank of the backrcst) is particularly likc thc carving on thc lower plank of
thc back of a chair from Dýrafjörður (figs 10 and 11). The chair bcars an inscription
showing that it was madc for a vicar who worked in Sandar in Dýrafjörður bctwccn 1647
and 1696.
Howcvcr, thc more naturalistic vine ornamentation on the side planks of the pcw from
1739 is morc closely relatcd to what wc fmd on thc other two bridal pcws (figs 5-8). Thc
largcr of the pcws, from Hraun church (figs 5 and 6) has particularly magnificent and vital
plant ornamentation. Thc hugc tulip-like flower in thc middle of thc uppcr plank of thc
backrest must bc considcrcd to bc a touch of “floral Baroque" (Flemish Baroque). Two
caskcts, onc with the date 1758, the othcr with thc date 1795 (figs 12-14), have carvcd
decoration which is strikingly close to the carving on this pew.
It sccms rcasonable to supposc that thc two undatcd bridal pews and the chair originatc
fronr the second half of thc 18th century. They arc unlikely to be the work of the same
hand, and the smaller pcw (fig. 7) may bc of somcwhat later date than the largcr onc.