Early Scandinavian trade
TRADE (Global encounters: Fashion, culture and foreign trade in Scandinavia, 1500-1630) was an EU-funded project that investigated this trade using an array of methods from various disciplines. This included art and cultural history, archaeology, anthropology, economic and social history, and fashion theory. In addition to looking at these changes, it also explored how individuals' lives were transformed as a result. Visual sources and documents were discovered in historical archives in Finland and Sweden. These included wardrobe inventories, commercial letters, trade records and account books. The research showed that Scandinavia was significantly less isolated than recent scholarship thought. Novelties and new fashion accessories were ordered and imported to Scandinavian towns from diverse geographical areas. Scandinavians were also able to acquire non-European goods that had arrived in Europe through the international ports in Venice, Genoa, Lisbon and Spain. Results have been disseminated via numerous publications, in academic papers presented at international conferences, and in major institutions in Europe and New York. One important result is the advancement of more comprehensive questions about the interpretation of the value, origins and stylistic variations related to dress and textiles. This led to investigating differences between experimental and experience research. Additionally, the project created a research blog for communication and publishing purposes. This will continue to broaden the spectrum of knowledge for the general public.
Keywords
Scandinavian, clothing, fashion, textile, international trade, Renaissance
