Sunday, July 8, 2012

Scandinavian Napkins and Tablecloth


I bet you thought I was done with the whole red, white and blue theme, eh?  Well I couldn't resist posting these beauties.  I found both the napkins and the tablecloth at Punzel's in Michigan last year.  I already posted the beautiful red, white, and blue linen table runner I bought there last September and I have been itching to put these up ever since.  

According to Wikipedia, the horse you see here is called a "Dala" horse.  The Swedish started carving wooden horses long ago as toys that then became a popular item for trade. Different locations had differing styles, but the red horse with the detailed harness in white, green, yellow and blue became the most widespread and is now a popular symbol of Sweden.  

Originally the horses were just carved from wood and not painted.  According to legend a wandering painter came across a plain horse and painted it in the kurbits style.  What is kurbits you ask?  It is "an invented, fantastical symbol of vegetal fertility based on a gourd or pumpkin of biblical legend, principally used for ornamentation in Swedish folk art and on painted furniture and domestic objects."  I had to google it and it is totally awesome!  I am totally crazy over kurbits and I didn't even know it!  You must google image it!  When I bought these I knew none of this...I just thought they were super cute and beautiful.  Now I like them even more!


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