Iceland review - 2014, Side 36

34 ICELAND REVIEW
And a tear in the skirt had been mended. Details such as
this fascinate me, bringing it to life, in a way.”
The curator was amazed by what I told her about the
outfit’s history, and it also drew attention from other
people present in the room. I was asked to give an
impromptu lecture about it to a group of visiting M.A.
students. Their professor later told me that it had been
priceless for the students to really grasp how an object
can be so valuable to a small nation far away.”
Asked whether she thinks it might be returned to
Iceland, Sigrún expresses her doubts. “The museum
owns artifacts from all over the world and returning
them is not their policy. At the end of the day, the most
important thing is that it is well cared for at the V&A;
there it lies in a drawer, gently wrapped in silk paper. I
think it is safe to say that it wouldn’t exist at all had it
not been for Hooker. Actually, more explorers in the late
18th century brought costumes back to England—even
older than this one. We don’t know their whereabouts
today, and whether they have survived through the
centuries. This particular costume has such an aura of
adventure and the fact that it is still here is amazing. And
so inspiring. Thanks to it, almost 100 women have now
handmade their own faldbúningur costumes, which is a
major undertaking. And it continues to encourage oth-
ers to do the same, thereby upholding this valuable tradi-
tion, which is an integral part of our national identity.” 
made, and therefore it was not possible to learn how to
make them,” Sigrún explains.
In 1999 the Icelandic Handicrafts Association unex-
pectedly received a government grant for the purpose
of increasing use of national costumes by the public.
“Then we finally were able to conduct proper research
of the faldbúningur, and a few members traveled to
London and examined the V&A costume. Then it was
time to reopen the trunk and finish the costume I had
started all those years ago,” Sigrún recalls.
“When dressing up, we struggle a bit with the faldur.
It is with this as with many other cultural phenom-
ena, we can put them under glass in a museum but
the problem is that we don’t know how they were
made. The same goes for turf farms and sheepskin
shoes. Thankfully, more emphasis is now placed on the
tradition and the know-how. That is really what the
Icelandic Handicrafts Association is all about.”
MOrE cOSTuMES MIgHT STIll ExIST
During her two hours with the V&A Museum’s bridal
outfit, Sigrún noticed many interesting things. “The top
was quite worn and weathered whereas the skirt and
apron were as good as new. In those days, the embroi-
dery was done with herb-colored yarn, which discol-
ored very quickly but here they had kept their color.
hIsTORY
DRAWING BY EDWARD DAYES.
two women adjusting their
faldur headgear at a farm
near Mt. hekla, as envisioned
by 18th century explorers
lord stanley and john baine.