Arne Tjomsland (1915-1970) – Nordic designs in whale tooth and wood

Arne Tjomsland was one of Norway’s foremost souvenir designers in the 1950s and 60s. His designs were based on the theme of Nordic fauna; including animals, Eskimos and Vikings carved from whale tooth or wood. His artistic style is characterised by soft lines and minimal detail (Source: Norwegian designer/ Norwegian mid century designer Arne Tjomsland, 2016).

Tjomsland was born in 1915, the son of Mikael Tjomsland – a preparator at the Zoological Museum in Oslo. ”Having lost his mother at a young age, he spent his days at the museum with his father, surrounded by animals; an environment that inspired his creativity” (Source: Midcentury figurines inspired by Arctic fauna get a new lease of life, Rosa Bertoli, 2019).

In the 1940s and 1950s, Tjomsland worked as an advertising creator for the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo. During World War II, he worked closely with the journal Bonytt. At the request of the goldsmith Torolf Prytz, he set up his own carving workshop at home and started production of wooden souvenir figures in 1954 (Source: Arne Tjomsland, Mats Linder, 2016).

The first piece he created in 1954, was inspired by his time at the museum as a child: a stylised polar bear, its shape as simple as it was expressive. This marked the beginning of a prolific output of animal figurines inspired by Arctic fauna, as well as Eskimos and Vikings, in wood and whale tooth (Source: Midcentury figurines inspired by Arctic fauna get a new lease of life, Rosa Bertoli, 2019).

Stein Tjomsland shared some personal memories of his father, ”When I was young, I didn’t think much of all the sculptures he brought home. But in recent years, I could clearly see his genius in making those objects look so alive.’’ One of his most vivid memories of his father involves him carving a piece of soap. ”I was about eight or nine, I saw my father standing at the kitchen table with the soap and a knife. He started carving and within a few minutes he had turned it into a musk ox. Then he said: “Now go wash your hands for dinner, and use this musk ox to do it” (Source: Midcentury figurines inspired by Arctic fauna get a new lease of life, Rosa Bertoli, 2019).

In 1954 Tjomsland’s designs were selected to be exhibted in the Design in Scandinavia exhibition that toured the US and Canada from 1954 to 1957.

Originally Tjomsland carved all the figures himself, which were of a simplistic style and beautiful character. They eventually became so popular that after Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) ordered 500 polar bears he had trouble producing in line with demand. The furniture manufacturer Hiorth and Østlyngen therefore took over production around 1955 (Source: Arne Tjomsland, Mats Linder, 2016).

In 1957, Tjomsland became artistic director of the company Goodwill Products in Sanderfjord. In this role he designed figures from Nordic fauna, mainly in whale tooth, but also in wood.

Tjomsland’s designs were adapted to craft-based serial production. First they were roughly formed on band saw and then hand milled and finely cut. The final hand on the figures was usually Tjomsland himself.

The employees of Goodwill Products in full production. (Source: Mats Linder).

Arne Tjomsland Whale Tooth Designs

Arne Tjomsland Wood Designs

At the 1957 International Craft Fair in Munich, Germany, Tjomsland received the Bavarian state government’s gold medal for a collection of human and animal figures in teak and rosewood. In 1960 he was awarded a silver medal at the Triennale in Milan for a mountain ridge in whale tooth (Source: Norwegian designer/ Norwegian mid century designer Arne Tjomsland, 2016).

Below are some pictures from the June 1959 edition of Bonytt journal which featured an article on Tjomsland’s designs.

Tjomsland made about 200-300 different designs during his years at Goodwill Products which included animals: grouse, penguins, seals, puffins, walrus, polar bears, reindeer, goats, elk, weasels, arctic tern, snow owls, dogs, wolves, fjord horses, as well as various varieties of Eskimos and Vikings. Most of the models were made of whale tooth from sperm whales that were caught by the Norwegian whaling fleet based in Sandefjord and Larvik. In the mid-1960s, access to whale tooth declined, and production of Tjomsland whale tooth figures at Goodwill was discontinued. 

Arne Tjomsland Grouse, Penguin and Eskimo designs made of whale tooth.

Tjomsland passed away in 1970. In the years before he died, he made enameled copper works like the plates below.

Arne Tjomsland Enameled Copper Plate Designs

Since there is no complete catalogue of Arne Tjomsland designs, authenticating a figure can be difficult. Here are some useful tips:

1. The whale tooth carvings often have a sticker on them with Arne Tjomsland’s unique signature ”AT” and the word ”Norway”.
2. The wooden carvings often have the word ”Norway” carved into the wood (e.g. polar bear, Eskimo in the canoe, etc.) or have a stamp with the words ”Arne Tjomsland Norway” (e.g. musk ox, owl, walrus, reindeer, etc.).

Some carvings do not have any of the above. Since many of these are from the 50s and 60s, the stickers have fallen off, stamps have faded, etc. In this case, you will need to rely on his unique design or old magazines and catalogues of his designs – this does make it very difficult as there are other Nordic designers with similar styles.

The legacy of Arne Tjomsland’s designs still continues today with Eikund – a company re-launching Norwegian design classics, who have brought back his original 1955 design of Isbjørn – a physical pictogram resulting in a beautiful interpretation of the polar bear.

”The polar bear is the first of what Morten Hippe hopes will become a series of pieces by Tjomsland. It also expands Eikund’s scope as it enters into a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). ‘Together we will put focus on the polar bear and its diminishing habitat, issuing a special edition to support all the work that’s being done to protect this threatened species,’ says Morten Hippe. And as Tjomsland’s originals were carved out of teak, a material from the rainforest, this has been substituted for a more sustainable wood, alder.

”Tjomsland was special in that he saw things differently. He wanted to show the beauty of Nordic fauna in a pure and simple way,” says Hippe, concluding with a quote from Tjomsland himself, which could very well serve as a universal definition of good design: ”Because life is complicated, it has to be pure and right”. (Source: Midcentury figurines inspired by Arctic fauna get a new lease of life, Rosa Bertoli, 2019).

About the Author

Born in East London, South Africa, Dayne Skolmen developed a passion for writing articles in his early 20s. His favourite subjects to write about are interesting people, places, and items from the past. With every article he writes, he discovers all the details about his subjects and pieces them together to form a brief history for you to enjoy.

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