ASF Fellowship - Vesterheim Study Visit 2024 - Library Visit

Before getting into some of the highlights of my reading, I’d like to extend my gratitude to the staff at the Vesterheim who have been very supportive of my studies in both the library and the collections.

Due to limited time I chose to focus on my goal of finding information that related to who was making ale bowls in Norway and how. With the help of the museum staff, who curated an extensive selection of publications based on my interests, I read several very informative chapters on a few known wood turners, as well as information regarding craft villages. The library staff also provided me a promising amount of literature on drinking traditions which I must spend more time digesting and share sometime in the future.

Who turned these bowls?

I’d like begin with a relevant essay written by Norwegian museum director and art historian Robert Kloster that was published in the 1972 book “Nordisk Folkkonst”, edited by Sigfrid Svensson”.

Håndverksbygden Og Bygdehåndverkeren

“The Craft Village and The Village Craftsman”

Nordic Folk Art, edited by Sigfrid Svensson 1972

Throughout his essay, Kloster presents historical data and some specific accounts that gives us a small glimpse into 18th and 19th century rural crafts as a whole. Kolster proposes this concept of analysis for rural craft:

“Roughly speaking, one can distinguish between two main forms of rural craft, namely a standardized mass production and an individually nuanced effort. It is these two forms that I have wanted to highlight with the terms craft village and village craftsman.”

Kloster uses the term “village craftsman” as a reference to someone who produced craft as either a form of self-sufficient domestic labor, or to supplement income through producing in the winter months outside of their primary occupation, such as fisher or farmer.

Conversely, “craft village” refers to a higher concentration of craftspeople in a given geographical location that collectively produce craft on a larger scale.

Kloster points to a example of craft village production in Viksdalen that had been previously documented by Norwegian Sociologist, Eilert Sundt. Production in Viksdalen began with a single farmer making herring barrels several (Scandinavian) miles from the fjord. Finished barrels were taken along a long route to the fjord, then taken by boat to fishermen on the coast. Production caught on and eventually became a small rural industry that branched out around the community to include the production of boats to participate in fishing, as well as the production of smaller and easily transportable items such as tiner, turned plates, bowls, and boxes. One particular farm, Øvre Kjelstad, is mentioned as a location for a production of “Kjellstadskål”, which is a turned and painted ale bowl, and “Kjelstadhus” which is a turned painted jewelry box with a threaded lid, and sometimes made in multiple layers. Øvre Kjelstad also is the farm where Kristen Gunnarson Kjelstad (born 1766 , died 1844) is from, who is attributed with the creation of Viksdalsmaling. Sadly, Kloster made no mention of to who produced the turning.

The image and caption above come from page 131 “Nordisk Folkkonst”, shows a Kjellstadskål. The caption also mentions the Kulturgeografisk registreringsarkiv, which was a project started by Robert Kloster in 1935 to register cultural traditions based on geographical location for historical posterity. It originally started with a questionnaire that was sent to museums to gather information about farm layouts and construction, as well as household items and their origins. WWII put a pause on the program until it resumed post war as more of a register of rural crafts in Western Norway. This is a resource I hope to study more into and hopefully find more leads.

Known/named woodturners

Kirsten Bergset - Styrn, Norway

Kirsten Bergset, Est. birth 1845, was photographed standing at his lathe in Stryn, Norway with a variety of his turned work in 1935. Staged around the lathe was a variety of objects he had turned, including Nordfjord style ale bowls. Kirsten Bergset’s lathe has some differences from the splayed leg style lathe with a moveable headstock and tailstock that myself and other contemporary turners use. The tall post, which acts as a headstock to the lathe, is attached to the exterior wall of a building. The bench is attached to the post on one end and supported by a short post on the other end. The tailstock is adjustable along the lathe bed with a wedged mortise and tenon. Also notable is the relationship of the height of the lathe and the tool rest. The lathe height is rather low, with the center height at Kirsten Bergset’s waistline. The tool rest is several inches above the height of the centers. Many of the contemporary pole lathe designs, such as my mentor Jarrod’s, place the tool rest height at the same height as the lathe centers, and the overall height of the lathe is fairly taller, with the ideal center height at the base of the turner’s sternum. Bergset’s setup has me further considering lathe designs and different takes on the geometry of tool approach.

Kristen Bergset stands behind his svarvestol (lathe) which has been staged with a variety of his turned bowls and an ale scoop.
Photo: Berit Ulvedal? / Norsk Folkemuseum / Id: NF.13955-001 / 1935

I came across this image of a man standing at a svarvestol in the Vesterheim Library’s copy of “Maihaugens Bok Om Hantverk : De gamle verksteder, Folkekunst, Kunsthandverk, Kirke og samfunn” by Tord Buggeland (published in 2000). I sent an inquiry to the Norsk Folkemuseum, which the image was credited to, and received response from Anja Hysvær Langgåt (Conservator NMF) with some very helpful information regarding the image. The image was submitted with a response to a questionnaire sent out circa 1935 inquiring about carpenters. I suspect this might have had something to do with Robert Kloster’s Kulturgeografisk registreringsarkiv. Enclosed with the questionnaire response was the image above that had the following written in Norwegian on the reverse:

“Svarvestolen til Kristen Bergset, settt utanfor lødeveggen. I denne stolen har han svarva 100 - og 1000 - tals med store og små skåler, fat og ølbollae. K.B. er no yver 90 år, og har drive svarving (visst) all sin dag. Den lange troda (stongi) er sett fast i marki med enden og ligg yver ei kluft. Frå spissen går et snor, rundt <snelda> og ned i trøda. Når han trød, bøygjer stangi seg etter. Når han lettar foten spenner stangi upp att”

Below you can read a translation to english by google translate and some small corrections from myself (with very little knowledge of the Norwegian language):

“Kristen Bergset's lathe, seen outside the barn wall. In this chair he has turned 100s - and 1000s - of large and small bowls, dishes and beer bowls. KB is now over 90 years old, and has been svarving (of course) all his life. The long pole is fixed in the ground with its end and lies above the lathe. From the tip a cord runs, around the <snelda> and down into the treadle. When he stepped on, the rod bends. When he eases his foot, the rod straightens up again.”

Sjur Sandvig - Romsdal, Norway

Also in “Maihaugens Bok Om Hantverk…” Tord Buggeland writes of an old lathe from Hustad and shares an annecdote from the Maihaugen’s founder, Anders Sandvig. Paraphrasing would not be productive, so here is the excerpt translated to english:

“The lathe chair from Hustad
Anders Sandvig, the dentist who was the founder of Maihaugen and head of the museum until 1946, grew up in simple circumstances. He would speak about turning platters and bowls on a lathe chair which is now in the røykovastua at Maihaugen.
‘The man who owned this bench used his winter evenings for such work, while his little son knelt in front of the bench and helped pull the treadle down eery time his father put the iron to the bowl. In the spring, he usually had one or two horse loads that he took out to the countryside. The payment was not large, two bowls of grain or a bowl of flour, whether the bowl was sold was large or small. It is not much more than 30 years ago. I myself have known the owner of these simple tools and put them to use. He was my father, the little boy was me.’”

After reading this story, I reached out to Maihaugen in search of any further biographical information regarding Anders Sandvig’s father, Sjur Sandvig, and inquired if the lathe mentioned still resided in the røykovastua (smokehouse) at Maihaugen. I received a response Else Braut (Konservator NMF/Curator) who provided the small amount of biographical info that is known: Sjur Sandvig (b. 1825, d. 1902) Fisherman, Farmer, husband to Maren Knutsdotter Hustad (b. 1830, d. 1914).

Robert Kloster’s “village craftsman” definition certainly came to mind and it seems Sjur Sandvig seemed to fit the description exactly considering his motivations to supplement his fishing and farming income by trading for necessities with his turned work he produced in winter months.

Else Braut also enclosed an image of the lathe in the røykovastua. With her permission, here is the image of its current state:

One of the publications I encountered in the Vesterheim’s library was a 1907 publication of “De Sandvigske Samlinger” written by Anders Sandvig with the purpose of it being a detailed guide to the museum. In this publication I again encountered the annecdote of Anders and his father Sjur, this time in his own words. Pictured next to the annecdote was the very same smokehouse lathe, photographed around 118 years earlier.

In a later 1961 publication “Maihaugen 1957 - 1960” edited by Sigurd Grieg and Fartein Valen-Sendstad, there is a chapter dedicated to “Tredreiere og dreiebenker” (wood lathes and turning benches) that mentions additional information about Sjur Sandvig. Below is a translated an excerpt using google translate, with corrections/adjustments I’ve made:

“One of the lathe chairs stored in De Sandvigske Samlinger once belonged to Sjur Andersen, museum director Anders Sandvig’s father. Sandvig said that as a small boy he often knelt under the lathe and helped his father press the treadle down when his father turned wooden cups. It is this motif that is carved into the granite stone on Anders Sandvig’s tombstone at Mauhaugen. Anders Sandvig also told about how much his father got for his wooden bowls, as much grain as the wooden bowl could hold. ‘The bigger the bowl, the more grain father got in payment,’ he added (Fig. 11).”

One of the interesting additions was reading Anders Sandvig’s father’s name written as Sjur Andersen, which must be Sjur’s patronymic surname. The surname Sandvig appears to be a habitational/farm name and has an Old Norse origin that means “dweller by the sands.” This tracks as his son Anders’ birthplace is Bud, and his wife’s name, Maren Knutsdotter Hustad, indicates Hustad as her geographical surname. Bud and Hustad are costal villages very close to each other. You might also recognize the name Hustad from an earlier mention of Sjur Sandvigs lathe in the “Maihaugens Bok Om Hantverk…” as the origin of the smokehouse and lathe.

Another interesting additional piece of information from this excerpt was the mention of Anders Sandvig’s tombstone, that features Anders as a child kneeling beneath his father’s lathe as he helps press the treadle down as his father Sjur turns a bowl.

Open-Air Museum Maihaugen - Memorial for Anders Sandvig, June 2017, © Walter Pachl

Also included in the 1961 publication of “Maihaugen 1957-1960” was the following image of a svarvestol shown with nearly all of the tools necessary for bowl turning. This image (fig. 11.) is mentioned at the end of the excerpt above, which may imply that it is Sjur Sandvig’s lathe, however I find that implication to be either unintentional, or potentially incorrect. The lathe below is a very different lathe than the smokehouse lathe at Maihaugen, and also seems to be located in a different structure. I’m currently anticipating an arrival of a copy of “Veileder til De Gamle Verksteder” published by the museum in 1959, which is referenced in this image’s caption, and hope to find more clarity surrounding this lathe.

“Fig. 11. Lathe chair in “The old workshops”, Maihaugen. The blanks for cups and platters were roughly made with an ‘teksle’ before they were set up in the chair. On the left you can see such a subject and a ‘teksle’ (teljeøks).”
While the caption refers to the tool “teksle” as a “teljeøks” I believe there may have been a misunderstanding in the editing of this publication as those two terms refer to different tools. A '“teksle” is a tool that modern english speakers refer to as an adze, which is pictured on the bowl blank on the right-hand-side of the image, while a “teljøks” is an axe.

Regardless of this image’s uncertain attribution, it is wonderful as it shows nearly all of the implements needed for bowl turning. The tools I’m very delighted to see is the variety of scrolled lathe tools hung on the wall. Another important detail shown is the mandrel, which is the cylindrical object on the wall with spikes that is secured to the bowl blank so that the drive rope can transfer the motion to the work being turned. It also seems pretty clear that an adze was used to reduce some of the material on the interior of the bowl before mounting to the lathe. Another interesting observation is the presence of a seat. In the few, far older, depictions we have of this type of turning in Europe (back to at least the 1200s) the operator stands at the lathe. The user of the lathe above might have sat using both legs to press the treadle. This way of operating a pole lathe from a seated position is possible, and can be seen demonstrated by french pole lathe turner Jean-Paul Rossi in this youtube video.

The tools

Starting with the lathe, I’d like to list a few Norwegian terms I’ve encountered used to refer antique lathes; svarvestol/svarvstol, dreiestol and dreiebenk. While the term dreiebenk is currently used to refer to modern lathes, I see it occasionally used in modern use to refer to older foot powered lathes such as pole lathes and lathes with a flywheel. Dreiestol is a term I’ve only come across a few times in digital collections. Svarvestol is a term that appears to be the most accurate as its use has been used the most directly in literature on foot powered lathes. Also I see it as the most accurate term as its use likely dates back further than the mid 19th century as Anders Sandvig uses this term in 1907 to describe the simple lathe that his father used, which suggests that his father likely used the same term.

In Anders Sandvig’s 1907 publication of the museum guide “De Sandvigske Samlinger” the lathe in the røykovnstua is shown with a bowl and mandrel mounted in fig. 85. In figure 86, we can see in detail the joining of the mandrel and the turned work using spikes. We can also see that the exterior of the bowl has been turned to completion and the work is partially turned on the interior, leaving a core where the mandrel is inserted into the bowl.

On the same page, we also see fig. 87, which is labeled “dreiejern.” The turning tool on the right certainly is of interest as the cutting edge of the tool appears to be a complete eye, as opposed to a somewhat closed scroll/hook. The advantage of this tool with hollowing would be the ability to alternate easily between cutting the inside wall of the bowl, and the core. The tool on the left appears to be a rather large open scrolled hook that might have been useful at the lathe. I suspect this tool might have been more useful for cleaning the scars on the bottom of the exterior of the bowl where the lathe center held the work, and the inside of the bowl where the core is separated.

In fig. 88 we see a tool called an “utihoggar” in it’s caption, which is the first time I’ve encountered this term. I’ll also mention that in the 1961 publication of “Maihaugen 1957-1960” this tool is referred to as an “teksle.” Current english speakers use the term “adze” for this tool. Curiously, the adze shown in fig. 88 looks to be the same exact adze that is shown resting on a bowl blank in the image of the lathe above. The caption for fig. 88 mentions that this tool is used to remove the “core” where the iron spikes of the mandrel are attached. As a current practitioner of this form of turning, I have two interpretations of this caption. The first is that this tool is used to remove some of the material from the inside of the bowl before mounting. The second is that the adze is used to sever the core from the bowl when it is done being turned on the lathe. I have doubts about this second interpretation as it doesn’t seem like a practical use for this tool. I think that my first interpretation is more likely even though this use is not shown in the bowl shown in fig. 85.

I would like to note that while looking at antique bowls in the Vesterheim’s collection, I encountered a bowl (LC0127) with four shallow holes in the inside bottom of the bowl that very much resemble the impression of a spike mandrel. In my other post about my Vesterheim collections visit I speculated that these markings might have been an indication that the bowl was partially hollowed before a spike mandrel was mounted. The turner may have misjudged how deep the mandrel tines pierced the wood and left the marks where the tines were at their deepest rather than carve them away an make the base thinner. Fig. 85 and 88 suggests that my speculations on bowl LC0127 are plausible.

Turning tools

While studying pole lathe turning in literature on Norwegian folk art, online articles, and online collections, I’ve encountered the terms krokjern, dreiejern, svarvjern, and utholingsjern used to describe the turning tools with a small scrolled cutting edge at the end of a metal shaft used for turning on a lathe.

While I’ve yet to read any reference to the making of these tools, It is plausible that a rural woodturner, motivated by supplementing their income either by performing self sufficient domestic labor for their household or production for sale/trade, possessed the level of metal working skills to make their own tools. Otherwise, it also is plausible that if a woodturner didn’t possess the skills to make these tools themselves, there was another individual in the village or surrounding area that could make them.

Illustration of a Krokjern, or hook iron in english. I observed this illustration in the Vesterheim Library’s copy of “*Maihaugens Bok Om Hantverk : De gamle verksteder, Folkekunst, Kunsthandverk, Kirke og samfunn*” by Tord Buggeland.

Here is a Krokjern, very similar to the one illustrated in “*Maihaugens Bok Om Handtverk…”,* which currently lives in a set of tools that accompany a flywheel lathe in the Painter-Bernatz Mill at the Vesterheim Museum.

Ledged ale bowls and a unique drinking traditon

Before I wrap up this blog entry, I’d like to share one interesting drinking tradition that has a direct relationship with a common bowl design I’ve encountered in Norwegian ale bowls. This common reoccurring design I see in 16th-18th century Norwegian ale bowls is an open form bowl with an interior that is divided by 3-4 ledges. Hundreds of bowls with these characteristics can be viewed in a public folder I compiled on digitaltmuseum.org. The Vesterheim has a few of these in their collection inscribed with dates in the mid 18th century. Below are two of those bowls, items 2001.45.1 and LC223.

2024_11_15_VesterheimStudyVisit0139_2001.45.1_1.jpg

2024_11_15_VesterheimStudyVisit0139_2001.45.1_2.jpg

2024_11_15_VesterheimStudyVisit0139_2001.45.1_3.jpg

2024_11_15_VesterheimStudyVisit0139_2001.45.1_4.jpg

Before we get to the drinking tradition tied to this design, I think it is important to share a bit of information on the origin of these bowls.

In the book “Ølboller” by Per Terje Norheim, the earliest of the ledged bowls are referred to as “De eldste bollene, laugsbollene” (“The oldest bowls, guild bowls”) and that the bowls from the lathe 1500s to the mid 1600s have an unknown origin, but seem to have been produced in guild environments.

Per Gjærder’s “Norske Drikkekar av Tre” offers a little more info of these ledged bowls. One of the interesting observations that he makes is that the common inscriptions in the early bowls, written in Danish, always referred to the bowl as “skål”. As for the production of these bowls, Gjærder mentions “…there is reason to believe that the yellow bowls from the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century were produced in norske ladesteder og byer.” “Ladested” is a term that originated in the 16th century that translates to “loading/charging station” and refers to port or coastal location that was used by merchants for the movement of goods and materials. Between the ladested and cities, Gjærder suggests that these bowls were mass produced at these centers that were dominated by guild tradition. “By the middle of the 17th century, the guild-based production of the yellow bowls with turned ledges came to an abrupt end. They were to some extent imitated in the villages, especially in Trøndelagen, but in the imitations the original features are soon lost.”

From what I can tell, Per Gjærder’s comment on lost features may be referring to the execution of the decoration. The painting and inscriptions on the older bowls of guild make are more finely detailed and elaborate than the painting on the two bowls above from the Vesterheim collection. Although the imitations bowls are lesser in size and number of ledges, the execution of the turning doesn’t seem to be a lower standard in my opinion.

Ledged bowl drinking tradition: “Kjaedlare Skjærv”

A drinking tradition is mentioned in association with the ledged bowls in both Per Terje Norheim and Per Gjærder’s work. However, in “Norske Drikkekar av Tre” Per Gjærder goes into slightly more depth. Gjærder wrote of a drinking tradition from Hardanger reproduced by Niels Hertzberg called “Kjædlare Skjærv.” According to the tradition, a bowl with four ledges would be shared between 8 individuals to the first ledge, 6 to the second ledge, 4 to the third, and 2 to the bottom. I’ve yet to locate a copy of Hertzberg’s work that Gjærder referenced so it is unclear if this tradition continued with the imitation bowls from the 18th century.

Conclusion

My visit to the Vesterheim Museum’s Library was a significant step forward in better understanding the significance of pole lathe turning in Nordic folk art and craft production. Since this visit my TBR (to be read) list exploded, and I’ve been reading/digesting a lot of the literature gradually, and with each book I pick up I find more to add to the growing list in my references. As you might expect, I’ll have more to share in the future.

I’d like to acknowledge that the historical research phase of my ASF Artist Fellowship this past year was limited primarily to Norway. As much as I wish I had the time to focus a similar attention to pole lathe turning practices in other Nordic countries, I’m content with the decision I made to narrow my focus. Going forward, I feel very optimistic about the path ahead with these studies and I’m incredibly grateful for the American Scandinavian Foundation and the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum for kickstarting this journey.

References/citations

Kloster, R., & Svensson, S. (1972). In Nordisk Folkkonst (pp. 126–143). essay, Gleerup.

Buggeland, T. (2000). Maihaugens bok om handverk: De Gamle Verksteder, Folkekunst, Kunsthandverk, Kirke og Samfunn. Maihaugen, De Sandvigske samlinger.

Sandvig, A. (1907). De Sandvigske samlinger, i tekst og billeder: et bidrag til Gudbrandsdalens kulturhistorie. Lillehammer: D. Stribolts efterfølger.

Grieg, S., & Valen-Sendstad, F. (1961). Tredreiere og dreiebenker. In Maihaugen 1957-1960 (pp. 51–80). De Sandvigske Samlinger.

Norheim, P. T. (2019). De eldste bollene, laugsbollene. In Ølboller : og andre drikkekar i tre i (pp. 18–20). The Gundersen Collection

Per, G. (1982). In Norske drikkekar av tre (pp. 130–134). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

Hansen, Tore; Sunde, Bjarne: ladested in the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia on snl.no. Retrieved February 10, 2025 from https://snl.no/ladested