Vivi Sylwan

Vivi Sylwan (4 September 1870 - 5 October 1961) was a Swedish textile historian and textile curator at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg.

Early life and education Anna Sofia Vivi Sylwan was born on 4 September 1870 in Kristianstad, to Ida Carolina (née Wendel) and Lieutenant Colonel Otto Sylwan. She was one of eight children. Her half-brother Otto Sylwan became a professor of aesthetics, literature, and history of art at Gothenburg College and was Principal of the college from 1914 to 1931. The two siblings lived together until his death in 1954.

Sylwan studied in the Department of Higher Art Industry at the Technical University of Stockholm, now Konstfack. She qualified as a drawing instructor in Stockholm in 1894.

Sylwan was head of the museum's textile department from 1914 to 1941, and played a prominent role in Swedish textile research. She made extensive efforts to collect folk textiles, which was her speciality. However, she worked in a broad field of research that was culturally and ethnographically orientated.

Recognition and awards Sylwan was awarded the Illis quorum medal in 1934, a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. In 1936, she was awarded the Jacques Lamm Prize for her work in the fine arts and the creative industries. In 1941, Sylwan was the first woman to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Gothenburg. Tekniken i Överhogdalstapeten (The technology of Överhogdal wallpaper). 1920. in Jämten 1920. Om brickband : ett bidrag till Överhogdals- och Skogstapeternas teknikhistoria. 1921. in Fornvännen 1921, pp. 212–235. Äldre norska tapisserivävnader (Old Norwegian tapestry weaving) catalogue foreword by Vivi Sylwan. Göteborg. Röhsska konstslöjdmuseet. Tillfällig utställning ; 45. Göteborg. 1922. En orientalisk matta. (An oriental carpet) Stockholm: KVHA.Fornvännen 1924. Senmedeltida textilier i S. Råda kyrka i Värmland. (Late medieval textiles in St. Råda church in Värmland) in Fornvännen 1924. Utställning 1923. Jubileumsutställningen. Västsvenska textilier å allmogeavdelningen: vägledning (Jubilee Exhibition. West Swedish textiles for the general public: a guide) Göteborg (1923). Brickbandet som kulturobjekt. (Brickbandet as a cultural object). Stockholm. 1926. En senantik gobelinmedaljong. (A late antique tapestry medallion) 1932. in Röhsska Konstslöjdmuseets årstryck 1932. Hur lejonet blev leopard: en studie i bohuslänsk textilkonst. (How the lion became a leopard: a study in Bohuslän textile art) 1933 in Bohuslänska studier tillägnade landshövdingen Oscar von Sydow 12 July 1933. Svenska ryor. (Swedish rugs) Röhsska konstslöjdmuseets skriftserie. Stockholm: Natur o. kultur. 1934 Silk from the Yin dynasty. Stockholm. 1937 in Bulletin of the museum of Far Eastern antiquities, 1937:9 En damastduk och dess förebilder. (A damask cloth and its models) Göteborg. 1938. in Röhsska Konstslöjdmuseets årstryck 1938. Archaeological researches in Sinkiang: especially the Lop-nor region / by Folke Bergman; descriptive lists of textiles by Vivi Sylwan ; appendices by Sten Konow and Hjalmar Ljungh. Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin - The Sino-Swedish expedition, 0348-0984 ; 7:1 Archaeology. Stockholm: Thule. 1939. Våra textilier och deras vård. (Our textiles and their care) Göteborg. 1941. Woollen textiles of the Lou-lan people. Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin - The Sino-Swedish expedition, 0348-0984 ; 7:2 Archaeology. Stockholm: [Thule]. 1941. Archaeology. Reports from the scientific expedition to the north-western provinces of China under the leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin ; 45. 8. Ethnography ; 9. 1949. Investigation of silk from Edsengol and Lop-nor : and a survey of wool and vegetable materials. Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin - The Sino-Swedish expedition, 0348-0984 ; 7:6 Archaeology. Stockholm: [Statens etnografiska museum i distr.]. 1949. Bonaden från Skog: Till frågan om dess innehåll och datering. (The embroidery from Skog: to the question of its contents and dating) Stockholm. 1950 in Fornvännen 1949 Den skånska dukagångsdrätten: ett bidrag till dess historia. (Laws of the Scanian dukedom: a contribution to its history) Göteborgs kungl. vetenskaps - och vitterhets-samhälles handlingar. (Papers of the Gothenburg Royal Society of Science and Letters) Ser. A, Humanistiska skrifter, 99-0427951-9 ; Följd 6, 4 :7. Göteborg: Wettergren & Kerber. 1954.