Falurutan, Duhs II

Falurutan, Duhs II, is a beautiful ‘Röllakan’ flat weave rug designed by Barbro Nilsson in 1952. Handwoven in wool on a linen warp, following the artist’s detailed instructions, the rug is still made-to-order (for the whopping price of 89,250 SEK/m²…) and can be produced in a variety of sizes. Each piece is entirely handwoven at the traditional MMF (Märta Måås-Fjetterström) studio (established in 1919 and still very much active) in Båstad, in the southwest of Sweden. From the careful dyeing of the yarns to the precise weaving, every step reflects the MMF studio’s commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail. The result is a truly extraordinary rug—made to be treasured for generations.

Märta Måås-Fjetterström (1873-1941) was a leading Swedish textile artist and designer in the early 20th century. She is remembered in particular for the weaving studio she opened in Båstad in 1919 and for the decorative rugs she produced from the 1910s to the 1930s, increasingly combining rural Nordic traditions with modernist trends. Even though her designs were inspired by a variety of sources (including the British Arts and Crafts movement and Oriental patterns, etc.), her primary source of inspiration would always be the Swedish countryside with its abundance of flowers and wildlife.

From the point that she opened her own workshop, Måås-Fjetterström’s career continued on a directly upward trajectory,and she experienced her major breakthrough, aged 61, at a 1934 exhibition at Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs Public Art Gallery) in Stockholm. Two years later, in 1936, her designs were shown at the British Museum in London, and in 1939 again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Many of her classic rugs, such as Svarta trädgårdsmattan, Hästhagen, and Bruna heden, emerged during the 1920s and 1930s. She began a fruitful collaboration with Carl Malmsten (1888-1972, Swedish interior decorator and renowned designer of handcrafted furniture), and together they worked on many of the bourgeoisie’s private furnishings but also on public spaces such as the Swedish Institute in Rome. Måås-Fjetterström’s rugs also adorn Ulriksdal Palace (a royal palace situated 6 km north of Stockholm), Verner von Heidenstam’s (1859–1940, Swedish author, poet and Nobel Prize laureate) manor house Övralid (located north of Motala in Östergötland County, Sweden), the Supreme Court of Sweden in Stockholm and several Swedish embassies.

To this could be added that Måås-Fjetterström’s work can be found in the collections of some of the world’s most important art museums, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Louvre in Paris.

When Måås-Fjetterström passed away, in 1941, a select group of people took steps to ensure that the workshop survived. The group consisted of the director of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Axel Gauffin (1877-1964), Carl Malmsten, King Gustav V of Sweden (1858-1950) and the Crown Prince, who was to become Gustav VI Adolf (1882-1973).

The workshop was reorganised in 1942 into the limited company AB MMF, which still to this day manages and renews the rich treasure trove of patterns left behind by Måås-Fjetterström. To manage and further develop the workshop in Båstad, Barbro Nilsson, a reputable textile artist and weaver, was appointed artistic director. She remained there for the next 30 years, ensuring that the workshop was to remain open for young artists to maintain a dynamic and contemporary environment.

Nilsson was one of the few textile artists capable of weaving her own designs. During the years 1934-1947 she taught at the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, where she was head of the textiles department from 1947 to 1957. Nilsson’s designs are characterised by a rich sense of colour. She lived by the seaside, and many of her works were inspired by the sea and the movement of the waves. The present design, Falurutan Duhs, was designed in 1952 and made in a variety of different colour compositions.

In addition to continuing to weave original patterns, Nilsson, together with Ann-Mari Forsberg (1916-1992) and Marianne Richter (1916–2010), participated in the renewal of the company. In 1955, Barbro Sprinchorn (1929-1973) was hired, and later Kaisa Melanton (1920-2012) also joined AB MMF.

The renewal has continued in recent years, for example with the Heden Remix (based on Måås-Fjetterström’s classic pattern Bruna Heden from 1931) launched in 2009 in collaboration with the Swedish architectural trio Claesson Koivisto Rune. Starting in 2002, MMF AB also initiated a new tradition whereby a contemporary artist was given the opportunity to design a textile artwork that would be woven in a single, unique copy. Artists who have had this honour include Marie-Louise Ekman (2002), Elis Eriksson (2003), Jockum Nordström (2004), Maria Miesenberger (2005), Charlotte Gyllenhammar (2006), Jens Fänge (2007), Cecilia Edefalk (2008), HM Queen Margrethe of Denmark (2009), Olafur Eliasson (2010) and Ylva Snöfrid (2012).

Signed: ‘AB MMF BN’ (AB Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Barbro Nilsson).

Designed in 1952.

Pure wool carpet in traditional Swedish ‘Röllakan’ flat weave technique.

470 x 231 cm.

Provenance

Bukowskis, Stockholm, Sale 598, December + Asian Sale, 13 December 2016, lot 121.

Private collection.

Firestorm Foundation (acquired from the above).

Literature

(Ed.) Mårten Castenfors, Märta Måås-Fjetterström: Märta flyger igen! 90 år med Märta Måås-Fjetterström, exhibition catalogue, Liljevalchs konsthall (Liljevalchs Public Art Gallery), Stockholm, 2009, p. 153 for similar example.

Copyright Firestorm Foundation