Tablecloth

Cathrine Lorange
Here we see an oval tablecloth. A tablecloth that was not meant to be eaten on, at all, but just to be enjoyed! 

Narrator
This tablecloth was originally a wedding present, says Cathrine Lorange, art historian at the National Museum. A wedding gift to Barbara Krefting from the wealthy ironworks family at Bærums Verk, a village a few kilometers west of Oslo. 

Cathrine Lorange
It’s embroidered using a darning stitch - a very exciting technique. It is in many ways, a way of drawing with thread, which means that when we look at it more closely, you see incredible details in this winding landscape along the tablecloth. 

Narrator
The tablecloth is beautiful - but it also says something about the people who ordered it - that they are rich and important. That they can afford to eat fruits such as lemons and grapes, in addition to the more everyday cabbage and carrots. 

The edges along the tablecloth also show one of the favorite activities of the upper class in the 17th century: hunting. We can see hunters on horseback and on foot, with dogs on leashes, who are hunting both bear and red deer. 

Cathrine Lorange
This is hunting for entertainment, it is not hunting for survival. Here, they are dressed in silk shirts and lovely ribbons, and it’s a kind of hunting party. 

Then, you suddenly see a church at the back of the landscape, or small houses. There is a small rabbit peeking forward, bushes, beautifully rendered trees… so there is a fantastic wealth of detail.  It is truly a visual feast to wander around this tablecloth and discover the various elements in the landscape.