Bengta Eskilsson née Nilsdotter (1836–1923) was a pioneering Swedish textile artist who helped to safeguard Scanian weaving traditions. In 1887, she established a successful weaving school and textile business in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

which she ran for many years together with her daughters and nieces. The pieces and patterns produced by the school were appreciated at home and abroad. She won silver medals at several Swedish exhibitions and a gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Fair. Several of her works were bought by royalty.

Biography

Born on 16 June 1836 in the village of Hammarlunda in Scania, Bengta Nilsdotter was the daughter of the farmer Nils Persson and his wife Elna née Larsdotter. Together with her younger sister Hanna, she was brought up on the Frostagård farm where her mother and grandmother taught her to weave. In 1857, she married John Fredrik Eskilsson, a maltman, with whom she had two daughters. The family lived in Eskilsgård, a fine half-timbered farmhouse on

's Gasverksgatan. It was there she established her weaving school where she worked for the next 50 years, assisted by her daughters and relatives. Students from throughout Sweden came to learn weaving at her school. Like

Thora Kulle Thora Kulle née Nilsson (1849–1939) was a Swedish textile artist who specialized in weaving. In 1880, together with her brother-in-law, she opened a weaving school in Lund which developed into a textile retail business with several branches, i ...

and

Cilluf Olsson Cilluf Olsson (15 February, 1847 – 5 March, 1916) was a Swedish textile artist. She was an important figure within Svensk Hemslöjd (Swedish Handicraft Association). She was born to the wealthy farmer and local politician Sven Nilsson and ...

, she received orders from the

Friends of Handicraft The Friends of Handicraft ( sv, Handarbetets vänner) is a Swedish association for the education, development, production and experimentation of advanced textiles and design. History The association was founded in 1874 by Sophie Adlersparre. From ...

association (Handarbetets Vänner) producing decorative Scanian textiles based on traditional local designs. The high quality of her works led to awards at home and abroad. In particular, she won a gold medal at the 1900 Paris World Fair. Among those who purchased her fabrics were several European royal families, including Prince Eugen of Sweden and

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

. For Franz Ferdinand's hunting lodge, she produced a 12-meter long "drättaduk" decorated with a castle, horsemen, boats, peacocks and a double-headed eagle which bore a close resemblance to the Habsburg eagle. In 1896, Crown Princess Victoria purchased a tapestry depicting poppies, a pile rug from a pattern by Cilluf Olsson and a "dukagång" woven curtain by Thora Kulle. Benta Eskilsson died in Lund on 2 January 1923 and is buried at St Peter's Priory. Her daughter donated many of her works to Lund's

Kulturen Kulturen () is an open air museum in Lund in Lund, Sweden. Occupying two blocks in central Lund, Kulturen is Sweden's and the world's second oldest open-air museum after Skansen in Stockholm. It contains historic buildings, dating from the Midd ...

and to the Malmö Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskilsson, Bengta 1836 births 1923 deaths People from Eslöv Municipality Swedish textile designers 19th-century Swedish textile artists 20th-century Swedish textile artists 19th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Swedish women artists Swedish weavers

Biography

Further reading

References