Swedish

Swedish flat weaves are a Scandinavian folk tradition rather than an Oriental one, and they look it. Designs are built from simple geometry, stylised trees, animals and human figures, often arranged in bands, and the palette tends to be clear and bright against a pale ground. Many were woven as coverlets, bench cushions or hangings as much as floor rugs, which is why the formats can be unusual. The technique is flat weaving, so there is no pile and the piece is light and reversible. Interest in Swedish weaving grew sharply in the twentieth century as designers looked for textiles that worked with modern furniture, and the graphic simplicity that made them appealing then still does. Pieces here range from the interwar years to the middle of the century, in wool, with the folk-art drawing that distinguishes them from the geometry of Anatolian or Caucasian work.