"Linen Damask at Grönsöö". Women´s pride - Table decoration.
The handicraft movement in Sweden celebrates 100 years. We honor this by exhibiting two centuries of women history at Grönsöö, embodied in the treasure of linen damask from the palace collections. The large stock of table linen available at Grönsöö has been cared for by generations of housewives in the von Ehrenheim family. It has come to Grönsöö as dowry or was inherited. In large part, it has been woven on the farm by skilled weavers and to some extent it has been acquired by purchase. The initials and other carefully embroidered labels tell us who the first owner was.
To superintend an old estate household was a momentous task. Large family circles, numerous of guests and a host of staff, laid a heavy responsibility on the housewife. Large laundry, baking and slaughter were recurring tasks and there was also the continuous production and care of house textiles. The housewives were the centre of the Swedish manor culture!
The linen closet was the women’s responsibility, it was a measure-ment of the family fortune and it was loaded with prestige, but also with symbolism. It stood for the purity in a both practical and spiritual sense. When it came to table linen it also stood for the table sanctity.
A linen store was a part of the dowry, large or small depending on the circumstances. Often there was, as at Grönsöö, an existing store, which was increased by each new wife. The collection at Grönsöö consists of about 100 table cloths and 700 napkins. The oldest fabric is from the late 17th century and the youngest is woven 1946. The caring of the linen store was a delicate task and carefully monitored. Large laundry took place usually only twice a year and a house with a large family and many guests needed a great store of sheets, towels and table linen. They distinguished between everyday life and feast not only in dress and diet, but also in the table setting. The homespun linen was always simpler than the purchased, the foreign generally more exclusive than the Swedish.
You get an idea of the amount of napkins when you see the label “96” showing the number of napkins that were obtained of the same pattern at one time, all other napkins uncounted. Of course the everyday table linen wore harder than the one used at the feasts. That we still can find so much linen damask left at Grönsöö, must be seen as a testament to the diligence and care with which the treasures of the linen closet was treated.
The basis for the exhibition was made by Associate Professor Elizabeth Stavenow-Hidemark.
"Passing Trough" pictures by Georg Oddner
Georg Oddner's creative photography spans more than half a century. His black and white images from all over the world and his portraits of jazz performers won him great renown. He depicts the people of Spain, Peru, Japan and Vietnam as well as people in the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 60s, all with great compassion and warmth. Georg Oddner became a prominent figure in photography early, not only in Sweden but internationally as well.
Georg Oddner, 1923-2007, was born in Stockholm. His early career was as a jazz trumpeter in Putte Wickman's sextet. At 27 he abandoned jazz and traveled to the United States working, among other jobs, as fashion photographer Richard Avedon's assistant in New York. When he returned to Sweden in 1952, he settled in Malmö, devoting himself mainly to report and fashion photography. His reputation soon took off, and his numerous commissions took him all around the world. One of the magazines he often worked for was Vi. In 1958 he became a founding member of the photo group "Tio fotografer" ("Ten Photographers") in Stockholm.
The exhibition at Grönsöö, in cooperation with the Hasseblad foundation is a retrospective selection of the works of Georg Oddner from throughout his career. It includes photographs from his travels as well his portraits, jazz and fashion photos. His images are permeated by a sense of identification with his encounters with the new and unknown, wherever he was. His portraits are in-depth studies; his jazz photos reflect his own musicality, his sense of rhythm and coordination as he depicts the legends of the jazz world. His fashion photos reflect more than the loveliness of the models and the enticement of their garments.
Alla bilder/all pictures:
© Georg Oddner
