International studio (81.1925)

inceRHACionAL

A FINNISH RYA PRESENTING A COMBINATION OF THE SYMBOLIC DESIGN WITH THE GEOMETRIC

Reproduced by permission of Galerie Horbammer, Hchingjors

A manual art, peculiar to Finland, about which
Americans know almost nothing, is expressed in
the Rya, a beautiful, hand-knotted rug. It should
perhaps be referred to as a wall tapestry as it is
only rarely used on the floor. The Rya is the work
of the peasant folk and is unique in character.
The almost continuous darkness of the long winter
period offers much leisure for the development of
the handicrafts. So the farmer accomplishes much
in the production of both practical things for use

in the outdoor labor of summer and artistic for
his home the year around.

The designs of the earlier Ryas are for the
most part geometric; the later rugs show symbols,
confined generally to the center field, the border
displaying the geometric forms. Some foreign
motifs, such as the tulip, palmetto leaf and animal
forms, particularly lions and birds, appeared at
the beginning of the eighteenth century. By the
end of the century the foreign influence had

thirty

APRIL I925