Lillhardal / Lillhärdal

Illustrated in Fåhraeus (1974: 12) as a wooden container used as "dopkärl" [=baptismal vessel]; it is a vat-like container of the type used for carrying and holding liquids, with three ties around the outer sides (top, middle and bottom); it has a wooden lid ornamented with what appear to be Viking-style interlaces, and seen from above (ibid., pl. 167 on p. 128), it resembles a Viking shield. The first source is given as "Foto Nordiska Muséet", therefore probably located in that museum; the second source is after J. Granlund. An illustation in Sveriges kyrkor: Härjedalen (Bd. I: 182) shows the cover of such a container; it is round, shaped like a war shield; its upper surface is beautifully carved with two pairs of snakes, their bodies intertwined in a typically Scandinavian pattern; around the edge, zig-zag motif; in the centre, a circle enclosing a Sun symbol. This cover has two indentations, at opposite ends, which are probably there to fit the hinge and the lock. [NB: a second cover, also in pine and slightly larger, is believed to come from this same church; other such covers are reported in the Medelpad region of Sweden].