A decorative Rya coverlet, probably Uppsala, Uppland district, West Sweden,

The word rya is related to words such as rug (English) and Rühre (fur in German) The rya was first introduced to Scandinavian culture as a textile of a purely practical nature.  Until well into the 16th century it was in common usage at all levels of Swedish society as a coverlet. 

Ryas were generally woven as part of a woman's trousseau and were proudly displayed as important status symbols within the home.  They were used with the loop or pile side down towards the body and with the flat ground side in view. In such slitrya ryas (literally wear-ryas) woven as warming covers, the flat ground side was decorated and the hidden pile side was unembellished.  Eventually the rya as an insulating bed cover was usurped by the arrival of the quilted coverlet from continental Europe. The rya continued to be treasured in bourgeois circles as a decorative bedspread whilst serving as its original function in peasant homes until the end of the 19th century.  These decorative coverlets appearing at the end of the 17th century were displayed the other way up, with the looped or pile side in view and therefore this was the side that was decorated whilst the other side was now kept plain.   Whilst most practical ryas were woven in two joined panels decorative ones were woven in one piece to avoid a central seam.  For other examples of rya rugs with chequerboard designs see: Nylén, Anna-Maja, Swedish Handcraft, Lund, 1977, pp. 180-182, figs. 25, 257 and 258. By repute, this rya was woven in the village of Sibbo, north of Stockholm, in the Uppland district.  The simplicity and purity of design in this weaving gives it an immediate relevance and contemporary appeal.