Trunk

Object NameTrunk

Datec. 1852

OriginNorway

MediumWood - pine, painted

Dimensions21 × 42 × 22 in. (53.3 × 106.7 × 55.9 cm)

ClassificationsFurniture

Credit LineTransferred from Home Economics Department. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number74.13.49

Status

On view

Collections

CultureNorwegian

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: For centuries, painting decorative arts and furnishings was practiced throughout Europe, but the style called rosemaling is a unique Norwegian expression of the practice. Rosemaling was introduced as the Norwegian economy expanded during the 1700s. Artisans organized guilds that traveled through the country, painting the furnishings and interiors for the wealthy. Artists created their own signature styles, some regionally based, that brought color into the once drab, soot-ﬁlled Norwegian homes. Loosely translated as “rose painting,” the designs frequently lack actual roses, instead the term rosemaling most likely originated from Norwegian dialects where words like rosut, rosete or rosa mean decorative or decorated. Just as rosemaling began to go out of fashion in the late 19th century, Norwegians began a mass emigration to North America. Immigrants brought along some of their most treasured objects, including decorated trunks, as they journeyed to the New World for a new life. With this wave of immigration came artists and the art of rosemaling – bringing a uniquely Norwegian decorating style to America. This functional Norwegian trunk with its decorative ﬂourishes is an example from 1852 with detailed rosemaling and is personalized with the date and name “Anna.”

Locations