Herbarium

c. 1947

Herbarium, c. 1947. Stig Lindberg (Swedish, 1916–1982). Handprinted plain weave cotton, loom width; overall: 75.6 x 78.1 cm (29 3/4 x 30 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. B. P. Bole, Mr. and Mrs. Guerdon S. Holden, Mrs. Windsor T. White, and the L. E. Holden Fund 1947.213 Though Herbarium breaks from Stig Lindberg’s typical use of folkloric motifs, the design is imbued with a similar sense of whimsicality and brightness of color. The design was printed by the Swedish screenprinter Erik Ljungberg, who was highly regarded among Sweden’s textile designers for his ability to accurately translate their designs into high quality prints. An herbarium is a collection of preserved plants, likely used by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus when he devised his naming system for organisms in the 1700s.