Færøerne og Dansk Folkemuseum

Abstract

From the very outset the founders of the Danish Folk Museum were eager to have the Faroe Islands represented in their collections; in particular they wanted to include a roykstova (literally »smoke room«, the living room in a Faroese house). Howcver, a number of years were to elapse before the right contacts were established with the Faroes. The Museum obtained a small selection of Faroese objects in 1888-89, but it was not until 1896 that a larger and more representative collection was presented by Captain Daniel Bruun. Efforts were then made to acquire a Faroese house, an objective which was partly achieved in connection with an exhibition in 1906, for which Faroese craftsmen constructed and furnished a typical roykstova and glasstova (parlour, literally »glass room«). Further efforts were made to expand the Faroese collection during the first half
of the twentieth century, and an active part was played in particular by A. Weihe and later Petra and H. A. Djurhuus in establishing cooperation with the Faroese Museum Association. Meanwhile, the Danish Folk Museum's most important
contact and collector was R. K Rasmussen, who in 1920 was appointed doctor in the village of Eiði. Over many years he acquired for the Museum a welldocumented representative collection of Faroese objects. He also assisted in the studies of the Faroe Islands carried out by the Danish Folk Museum in 1947 and 1949. A genuine Faroese house was not acquired until 1965, but that is another story.