Ancient Icelandic design

Food container from the 19th century

It was customary in the days leading up to Christmas and during the festivities to treat yourself to better food and larger portions than usual. They were often so large that people couldn‘t eat them all at once or choose to retain them over the day. It is no surprise then that one of the mischievous Icelandic Santa’s steals out of the traditional food container askur.  Askur is specific to Iceland and is both a container or a bowl made out of wood where the lid can be used as a plate. It was a very useful artefact in the turf houses and earlier wooden houses where people sat on their beds to consume their meals. This item is Akureyri Museums artefact nr. 1. It comes from Eyjafjörður and is from early 19th century.