Early Finnish Art : From Prehistory to the Middle Ages : Photographs by István Rácz
106: Praeger, 1967. Hardcover. Text in English. 176 pp. Edge wear and scuffing on the dust jacket.
The beauty of ancient Finnish artifacts – from the simplest flint spcarheads and amber amulets to elaborate silver crosses –is displayed in EARLY FINNISH ART by the distinguished photographer István Rácz. His magnificent photographs which present these important relics in chronological order trace the course of Finnish prehistory from the end of the Ice Age to the Christian Era. The geographic bipartite character of carly Finland is reflected in the influence of both East and West on early Finnish culture. Among the oldest treasures are the large egg-shaped clay pots decorated with a tooth-edged stamp, from which the comb ceramics culture derived its name, a civilization that spread over Eastern Europe and western Russia as well as Finland during the third millennium. Systematic trading with the Valdai region and other areas of northwestern Russia accounts for the quantity and type of fint tools and vessels found from the comb ceramics period since almost no flint is indigenous to Finland. The only perforated axhead in the world carved in the figure of a man and also the Kiuruvesi gouge – possibly Finland's most beautiful Stone Age treasure – are outstanding examples of early Finnish craft. Amber was the gold of the Stone Age, and the appearance of amber jewelry shows that trade existed with people of the southeastern Baltic Coast as far west as East Prussia. Around 2000 B. C., a new people made their way into southwestern Finland: the Hammer Ax tribe, whose name came from their fighting weapon, a boat shaped hammer ax. While they were settling in Finland, closely related tribes spread over the whole of Central Europe and Scandinavia. The earliest articles of metal that have been found date from this period, and grindstones indicate that the Hammer Ax people introduced the growing of corn to this land of hunters and fishermen. During the Bronze Age, the culture of the southern and western coastal regions shared many characteristics wvith Scandinavian culture, including burial in large stone barrows. Farming life and villages were established. But in the interior the most important infuence still came from the East. The culture of northern Finland went on unchanged through the Iron Age, even up to the Middle Ages.
The Iron Agein Finland dates from about A. D. 100. A new era dawned then as an indirect effect of Rome's trade network Close contact with the Germanic world, especially through fur trade, resulted in the predominance of eastern Baltic styles in Finnish jewelry through the fifth century, when they were superseded by Scandinavian influences. Mr. Rácz's photographs of these beautiful traditional designs demonstrate the influence of these old styles on modern Finnish jewelry, such as the Kalevala brooches, necklaces, bracelets, and pendants An introduction by C. F. Meinander traces the development of Finnish prehistoric culture from the retreat of the continental ice sheet, around the eighth millennium B. C., to the end of prehistory in Finland, around the twelfth century A.D., when the country became linked to the Roman Catholic Church and to the Kingdom of Sweden, firmly establishing its place in European civilization. Very Good / Very Good. Item #4132
Price: $80.00