Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1999, Page 180

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
antiquities which were leaving the country in those days (cf. note 6).
The present author went through the diaries kept by Morris on his travels in Iceland
for evidence of objects acquired by him and his companions during their stay, noting as
well the various antiquities observed by them at the time. According to the diaries the
Englishmen bought one silver cup, four silver spoons and an unspecified number of horn
spoons, while also observing and nraking notes on various pieces of antiquites. In the
church at Skálholt, for instance, Morris saw two altar cloths “edged with Icelandic silver"
and a chasuble “with beautiful English fourteenth century embroidery." This chasuble is
now in the National Museum of lceland, acquired in 1935 (Inv. no. 11923, Figure 10),
and there are also two altar frontlets decorated with metal disks, silver disks on one of
them (Inv. no. 1145. Figure 11, and Inv. no. 21.1.1991). At a farm in southern Iceland
Morris observed a large carved chest, which he identified correctly as fourteenth century
German work; four panels from this chest, which had belonged to the bishop's seat at
Skálholt in earlier days, are now also, since 1883, in the National Museum of Iceland (Inv.
no. 2437). The only belt mentioned in the diaries was one with gilt silver ornaments
which they were shown by the owner, and which in 1892 was acquired by the National
Museum of Iceland (Inv. no. 3729, Figure 3); this was also correctly dated by Morris to
the sixteenth century. In one instance the diaries mention that during a visit to a country
silversmith's in western Iceland, the foreigners watched the production of traditional
snuffhorns (cf. Figure 7).And at a farm in northwestern Iceland they were shown a fme
embroidered coverlet from about or shortly after 1700 - estimated by Morris at the time
to date fronr the eighteenth century, which in 1884 was offered for sale to and bought by
theVictoria and Albert Museum in London upon Morris' recommendation (Inv. no. 8-
1884).