Label from Hjula Væveri

Description (English)

This label was pasted on rolls of fabrics for sale. The name of the Hjula mill as well as the production place, Christiania, make it clear who the producer is and where the fabrics come from. The ornate drawing expresses a duality between commerce and production. Mercury, on the left side, sits on sea chests in front of a sailing ship. On the right a muse or a goddess of textile production sits in front of a water wheel and two steaming factory chimneys. The cogweels can be seen as a symbol of the progress in production. The date is uncertain. On the top is a medalion with the name of the king of Sweden and Norway. He ruled from 1859 to 1872. The medalion might have been an award from the industrial exhibition arranged in 1866 by the Swedish arts and crafts association (Svenska Slöjdföreningen) in Stockholm where Hjula participated together with almost four thousand different producers from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.