Brown & Maroon Wooden Rosemaling Bowl

Wow!  This is a gorgeous wooden Rosemaling bowl in Telemark style.  Signed and dated by the artist, this bowl was purchased in Kråkerøy in South Norway.  Most people think about mountains when they think about Norway, but the south coast is stunning with dozens of small islands in Norway’s southern archipelago.  After a long winter, many Norwegians flee to the south coast to bathe off the smooth rocky beaches called “svaberg” in Norwegian — there’s really no direct English word for svaberg but see the picture below.

Painted in 1986 by Liv Holm, the artwork is of the highest quality – Liv certainly knew what she was doing.  The secret to a truly great piece of Rosemaling is the color combinations and this bowl is so pleasing in that aspect; a brown fading to maroon background sets of the gold, green brown flowers and scrolls.  Accented with cream decorations, the bowl’s inner edge is also decorated.

Most fun, though, is the gothic inscription around the outer rim of the bowl.  “Eg kjem med roser fra Telemarks fjell, Gud signe dagen til siste kveld.”  A reference to the Telemark Rosemaling’s flowers which are central to the style, the inscription translates roughly to “I come with roses from Telemarks mountain, God bless the day to the last evening.”

The bowl is in remarkable shape considering it’s over 40 years old.  A few tiny spots – each maybe a few millimeters – where the paint has worn just add charm to the piece.  There are no dents or scratches or cracks we can see.  A previous owner perhaps, the bottom has the name Reidun Stene written on it.

The bowl is just short of 12″ in diameter and 3.25″ tall.  It weighs 25oz.

We’re sure visitors to your home will oooh and aaah over this piece!  Show off your Norwegian heritage in style…

Norway’s beautiful southern coast