The item on the right is called tine or laup in Norwegian. According to Ola Grefstad, historian and conservator, the term in Trøndelag is laup.  The box is 19 by 35 centimeters, made of wood, and has an oval shape. On the short side of the box there are two wooden structures like an ear, they are called stol in Norwegian. One is moveable and fastens the lid when it is moved inwards. The box can then be lifted by the small handle. This laup was painted in 1819 and has a monogram on top: MAD. It is from the farm Jelhaugen, Storli in Oppdal. Grefstad also states that boxes of this kind were used for the storage of many things: sewing tools, cobblers’ equipment and so on.

Some laup had locks on them and the lock could have been very artistic in construction. The painting on this box is almost intact, it is only worn on the edges of the lid. The painting on the box itself consists of four flowers.

I had presumed that it belonged to my great-great grandmother Dorthea Arntsdatter born at Utistu. Storli, because of the letters A and D (Arntsdatter) and since it had the year 1819 painted on it. She was born in 1813. It belonged to the farm, Jelhaugen, where she married, lived and died. But the first letter is probably a M and then it does not make any sense. None of her siblings had a first name starting with M.

So how to find the original owner?

• Did Dorthea have any other first names?
• Are there any other family member with names starting with the letters M-A-D?
• So which lines should I follow?
• Any sponsors?
• By listing all the names, I have in FamilyTree Maker, I can sort them so that I can see everybody with a name starting with M, and then see if they have the combination A and D in addition? I will limit it to people living in this municipality: Oppdal.

And lastly, by learning more about the Gjonesamling. The Norwegian architectural historian and antiquarian, Erling Gjone, went from farm to farm between 1925 and 1940, in preparation for the booklets: “Early Historical art in rural Norway (Fortids Kunst i Norges Bygder) written by Johan J. Meyer. I know that some of the farm’s belongings were photographed and described. Maybe I will find more information there.

I have written about a bible I own. I have found out why this was among the family’s belongings by doing FAN (Family/Friends, Associates and Neighbours) research. You can read more about the bible here. Maybe FAN research might help me finding the owner of the laup.

Source: Per Gjærder: Esker og Tiner, C. Huitfeldts Forlag, 1981.