Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1985, Síða 184

188
ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
SUMMARY
Two cxcellent old pieces of furniture in the National Museum of Iceland, a box chair
and a chest, made of oak and carved in Baroque style, nos. 2702 and 10983 respecdvcly,
have as feature of front decoration monograms of the owner which have been newly dec-
iphered by the author of the present ardcle. These objects belonged to Ragnheiður Jóns-
dóttir (1646-1715), wife of two bishops of Hólar, Gísli Þorláksson and Einar Þorsteins-
son, and seem to bc attributable to the well known craftsman Guðmundur Guðmundsson
of Bjarnastaðahlíð in Skagafjörður. The chair, which is not datcd precisely, has at middle
of basc a small vertical panel with a carving done in low relief. Here may be discerned
thc converse monogram of Ragnheiður Jónsdótdr, RI, in the form of a plant. Thc letters,
which intertwine, are placed one above the other in the field, a strong resemblance with
the scrolls of a fricze carvcd around thc top of base nray be observcd. On the chest, bear-
ing thc datc 1680, there is a decoration of moulded square fields framed by zones with
low relief carvings, mostly scrolls. Two vertical zones, lying at each side of a centrally
placcd field of that kind, contain thc monogram of Ragnheiður. There appcars at lcft a
plant arising from a vase and forming, in a style similar to that of the monogram on the
chair, the initials RI, while at right this samc ciphcr is repeated in a converse order.