As part of our eastern neighbour’s jubilee year – 100 years as an independent state – the Nationalmuseum is paying particular notice to old and new cultural links between Finland and Sweden. The Nationalmuseum is the first museum to show an extensive collection of seminal works from one of Finland’s leading private collections of modern and contemporary design – Rafaela and Kaj Forsblom’s Collection.

Rafaela Seppälä-Forsblom and Kaj Forsblom have been dedicated collectors of artefacts and applied art by Finnish designers, architects and artists since the early 2000s. The collection began with a simple glass bottle by Ristomatti Ratia given to Ms Seppälä as a Valentine’s Day gift in 1999 by her future husband Kaj Forsblom.

Since that time, the collection has grown to encompass a range of 20th-century artefacts and contemporary Finnish design and objets d’art, reflecting Finland’s development as a nation from 1900 to the present day. The pieces provide insights into innovation, technology, development and aesthetics in the years immediately before and especially after Finland’s declaration of independence in 1917.