"Aavikonhiekka"
"Desert Sand" Rya Rug
Laila Karttunen
Finland, 1930s
Description:
A 1930s Finnish rya rug by textile artist and former director of the Wetterhoff Craft School, Laila Karttunen.
Designed by Karttunen during the 1930s, as a model for the Wetterhoff Craft School in Hämeenlinna, the story of this boldly patterned and richly textured rya rug intersects with several important chapters in Finish design and textile history.
The Wetterhoff School was founded in 1885 by Fredrika Wetterhoff. With a background in education, Fredrika believed strongly in the economic benefit of craft to modern, working class women. Admission to the school was free until students were able to find employment in shops and factories.
A year after its conception, the Wetterhoff School integrated weaving into its curriculum as both a practical pursuit and an attempt to promote this traditional, national craft. Moving into the 1930s, the school also welcomed several established textile artists including Laila Karttunen, who would later become the school's artistic director.
This rug is an exciting example of Karttunen's work. Made as a model for the school, the design of rug feels both traditional and modern; a symmetrical pattern of soft-pinks, yellows and cream, that reaches for figuration at the centre, but dissolves into cubic composition at its border. When discussing her art, Kartunnen is known to have said "yarn is my paint", and the deep, knotted pile of this rya rug only augments this painterly association.
Specifications:
Length: 170cm
Width: 110cm
Materials: wool
Artist: Laila Karttunen (1895–1981)
Further reading:
Laila Karttunen, "Life's Colourful Tapestry", 2025 Exhibition at the Hämeenlinna Art Museum.