Six Swedish Folk Art Ornaments

When I titled this post I could not decide what kind of artwork was on these ornaments. Was it Swedish or was it Scandinavian? I was hoping or Swedish since that is a shorter word. Off I go, googling down the rabbit hole to find out for sure.

I googled how Sweden and Scandinavian were related, and learned that Scandinavia denotes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; therefore, Sweden is subset of Scandinavia. Scandinavia is not considered an ethnicity nor a race or even a nationality.  The term Norden refers to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, thus adding Finland and Iceland to the Scandinavian mix.

From this interesting site about Scandinavian folk art I learned that Scandinavian folk art has similar themes aspect particular to the country of origin.

Scandinavian folk art is quite particular in the sense that there are similar themes displayed in the pieces. Common elements of Scandinavian folk art include:

• Geometric designs and patterns, lines, dots, circles, stars, and diamonds
• Nature motifs, such as flowers, leaves and animals, particularly horses, birds and fish
• Bright, contrasting colours
• Symbols from folklore and mythologies

But there are distinct features that typify the folk art of each of the Scandinavian countries. Swedish folk art is known for its bright colors and whimsical designs so my best guess is that these ornaments are Swedish.

The stylized design on these six ornaments could have a name, one which I could not recall. Is it tole? No. Not correct. When I googled tole I found on this Martha Stewart site

The word "tole" is derived from the French term "tole peinte de lac," which means painted tin. Historically, tole painting is a folk art that refers to the decorative painting you commonly see on tin antiques.

These are Swedish folk art, plain and simple. I spent probably as much time researching this terminology as I did making these ornaments. But they are bright and cheerful and I learned something in the process. I am happy to add these to my growing collection.

These six Swedish folk art renditions of a cat, tree, angel, stocking, partridge, and heart are added to the angels (1/5/24 post), houses (1/17/24 post), Strawberry Shortcake (1/25/24 post), critters (2/7/24 post), nativity scene (2/17/24), and Christmas symbols 2/23/24 ornaments I made earlier this year.