Dowry chest from the Åland archipelago

In Kumlingen, in the Åland archipelago, a bride travelled from house to house with her escort before her wedding. She received wool as a dowry and collected it in a sack. The escort got a drink in every house as a reward. The wool collected as a dowry was stored in a dowry chest until the autumn. In the autumn, before the wedding, there was a wool carding party for the bride. This way, the bride received carded wool for her dowry. This custom was abandoned in the late 19th century.

KB3091. Photo: Ilari Järvinen, 2021.