Yule Lad no. 4 of 13

Icelandic Yule Lad - Spoon Licker

Name: Icelandic Yule Lad - Spoon Licker
Brand: Penninn
SKU: PSF901046
Price: 37.90 USD
Availability: InStock

Þvörusleikir, the Spoon Licker · hand-painted figure with a spoon in each hand, designed by Brian Pilkington · about 13 cm (5.1 in)

$37.90

For the cook in the family, and for whoever licks the spoon when the cook looks away. One customer called his expression hilarious, and all seven who have reviewed him gave five stars.

What is in Þvörusleikir's box

The lad himself, feet planted wide and both arms up, about 13 cm tall by the maker's measure
Dark red cap, dark waistcoat with small buttons, mustard sleeves, grey breeches and green striped socks, all painted by hand
A red base with ÞVÖRUSLEIKIR on the front, for everyone who cannot yet say it
A booklet in English about the thirteen lads, their parents and the Yule Cat

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Comes 15 December, fourth of the thirteen
Hand-painted, tongue out, a spoon in each hand
Boxed, with ÞVÖRUSLEIKIR lettered on the base

Description

Þvörusleikir, the Spoon Licker, is the fourth of the thirteen Icelandic Yule Lads. He comes down from the mountains on 15 December to lick the þvara, the long-handled tool the old Icelandic cooking pot was stirred and scraped with.

Brian Pilkington's hand-painted figure catches him with a spoon in each hand and his tongue out. He wears a dark red cap, a buttoned waistcoat, mustard sleeves and green striped socks, and his name is lettered on the red base.

He measures about 13 cm by the maker's figure and travels in a clear window box, booklet included. For display, not for play.

Product facts

Character: Þvörusleikir (Spoon Licker), the fourth of the 13 Icelandic Yule Lads
Comes to town: 15 December
Height: about 13 cm (5.1 in)
Design: Brian Pilkington
Brand: Sólarfilma
Finish: painted by hand
In the box: the figure in a clear window box, with a small booklet in English about the 13 Yule Lads, Grýla, Leppalúði and the Yule Cat
Good to know: a display figure, not a toy
EAN: 5690666388045

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Icelandic Yule Lad - Spoon Licker

$37.90

Why you'll love it

He follows his brother into the kitchenStúfur comes for the pan on the 14th. Þvörusleikir arrives the day after for the spoon it was stirred with.
Exactly as pictured, and betterA customer wrote that he looked just like the photo and was more charming in person, with beautiful detail.
A way to pass the stories onOne customer bought five lads in a single Christmas to teach the family the legends of Iceland, their heritage. Another buys them for a daughter who began collecting after a trip to Iceland.
Drawn from what he doesBrian Pilkington has said he worked out each lad's looks from his habits, because the old verses hardly describe them. For years he has been the main designer at Sólarfilma, the Icelandic souvenir publisher founded in 1961.
Packed to be givenHe comes in a clear window box with a painted winter scene behind him, so he can be wrapped as he is.
Nothing to pay on the doorstepFor the US and Canada, duties and taxes are settled at checkout.

Popular together

Made to be used together. One click adds both to your cart.

The whole raid on the kitchen, and everyone else
The set puts the spoon, pot and bowl lickers side by side with their ten brothers, Grýla, Leppalúði and the Yule Cat: sixteen figures, for less than buying them singly.
Icelandic Yule Lad - Spoon Licker Yule Lads Figures - Set of all 16

$571.90 for both

Family-owned since 2013Run by two brothers in Iceland

2,600+ verified reviewsRated 4.9 out of 5

Same-day dispatch*Weekday orders — see how it works

Authentic Icelandic goodsPacked and shipped from Iceland

Questions people ask before they buy

Who is Þvörusleikir?

The fourth Yule Lad, who comes down from the mountains on 15 December. According to the National Museum of Iceland, in the old days he sneaked in to lick the þvara, the tool the cooking pot was scraped with.

What is a þvara?

An old Icelandic word for a long-handled tool of wood or iron used for stirring a pot. Spoon is the nearest English, so he is called Spoon Licker. The National Museum says that when he visits them each December he still goes looking for one among the old things on display.

Why are the spoons a different colour in your two photos?

Each figure is painted by hand, and the two pieces we photographed came out differently: light wooden spoons on one, dark on the other. Yours may be either.

How tall is he?

About 13 cm (5.1 in) by the maker's measurement, which makes him the tallest of the first four lads to arrive.

Will the spoons survive the journey?

He travels in a moulded clear tray that holds him still inside his window box, and a customer who ordered three figures wrote that they arrived safely wrapped. The spoons and raised hands are the parts that stick out, so once he is unpacked, lift him by the body or the base.

Is he a toy?

No. He is a painted display figure, and the raised spoons are not meant for small hands. The story of the spoon thief is the part to share with children.