On this gray and drizzly afternoon I finished the final touches on my little painting “The Norwegian Bride.” I am so happy with how she turned out! I know I talk a lot about Sweden here and Swedish art and traditions, but Norway also has fascinating art and traditions as well, and they deserve some time and attention!
When I saw a photo of a Norwegian Bride in her bridal crown I was fascinated– they are just gorgeous! The history behind them is pretty fascinating. According to Ingebretsens.com:
“The bridal crown came in use at the end of the middle ages, with the Virgin Mary’s crown at the forefront. The crown was undoubtedly the most expressive part of anything the bride would wear. It would be a symbol of her purity and virginity. Women who did not qualify in that category or who were pregnant or who were widowed were not allowed to wear the bridal crown. In some districts pregnant brides were allowed to wear smaller crowns or a modified version of the hodeplagget – a head covering that married women wore with their bunad.
Bridal crowns varied from district to district. They, as a rule, would be richly decorated with detailed silver work and, of course, would be very valuable. Some crowns could be so heavy that they would have to be sewn into the bride’s hair in order for it to sit properly in place. A very strong neck was necessary to carry this honorable head piece the entire day. Some crowns were owned privately, but many were owned by the church. Usually the crowns would be rented out and the price was usually one “daler”- Norwegian money unit prior to 1875.”
The idea for the floral motif actually came from seeing some beautiful designs in hooked rugs, so it is very much a marrying (hehe) of Norwegian and American style, done in my own folk art way. I’m so pleased with her, and have ideas for more! I think she’ll make a great start to my more spring/summer Scandinavian folk art collection.
And speaking of– please stop by my new blog Scandinavian Folk where I share my love even more for all things Scandinavian.
Til next time,
~H
Sleightholm Folk Art 
Beautiful, beautiful!! What a fascinating story about the bridal crowns. I have never known any other countries that had the same tradition. With the bright floral embroidered clothing, the crown adds a very regal touch. It does look difficult to wear and I bet it was not comfortable at all!! This is such a interesting and lovely kick-off to your spring/summer collection.
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Thanks so much! The wedding crowns are pretty amazing! And what an amazing piece to wear on your big day, right? I'm having fun introducing spring colors to my Scandinavian designs 😀
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thanks for sharing the story, i don't think i had heard of the bridal crowns before.love the painting.beautiful rich colors 🙂
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Thanks, Andrea! Its a wonderful tradition, isnt it?
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Very beautiful! You know I love all the flowers. 🙂
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Thanks, Holly! Girl, I'm glad you like the flowers! 😀 never too many, right?
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How nice that you looked in with me and thanks for the kind congratulation. What fun that you also have a doughtier who is five years and what good you are at painting. The Norwegian bride was great!GreetingsPetronella
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Beautiful! So artistic!
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Your Norwegian Bride is beautiful! Love your artwork!
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Oh! She is so very lovely. Lots of tiny details! Must have taken hours to complete.I see you have many new things in your Etsy shop too.I need to come to your blog more often.Thank you for coming to mine and commenting about the 'Our World Our Art' event. Lisa Swiftka hosted a similar event for five years called 'One World One Art' but she has changed the information about how to participate as it is to encourage the artistic blogging world. A huge undertaking for Lisa to accomplish!If you can participate it would be great!XOTeresa in Californiahttp://amagicalwhimsy.blogspot.com/
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What a lovely girl with a pretty crown!! Love the color of the background too. The dark blue is really beautiful. And thank you so much for leaving your nice comments on my blog!! PS I read your former post about Tasha Tudor. I have her books too!
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Thanks so much for your visit! So glad you like my little bride. and its always good to meet another Tasha Tudor lover!
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Thanks for the info, Teresa! And glad to have you visit 😀
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Thanks so much, Deb! 😀
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Thank you, I appreciate that!~
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Thank you! And so nice to have you visit!~
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She is absolutely stunning! All the details are so lovely.
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Oooh I like that the background is blue. I thought it was black when I saw it on facebook. Not that there's anything wrong with a black background! I'm a total blue fan, though. Almost everything in my closet is either blue or gray. Anyway, your painting is lovely. I really like the bodice she's wearing, too.
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