Gifts of Grandeur: The Gustavus III of Sweden Box, 1751

The Gustavus III Box
Swedish, 1751
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at a lot of pretty boxes over the past few years and a half. Here’s one more. This enameled gold box is set with a miniature in watercolor on ivory under glass of Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-1792), surrounded by moonstones.

On the base, a miniature of a double-hulled paddle-wheeled ship has been mounted. On the front, a view of a harbor with warships is displayed. The harbor has been identified as the Swedish naval port of Karlskrona. The hinge side of the box features a scene of a fortification which has been identified as Sveaborg, the Swedish fort which is now part of Helsinki. The box’s ends are also mounted with watercolors on ivory of a Swedish gun barge on one side, and, on the other, a Swedish frigate.

King Gustavus III of Sweden presented this box to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731-1815)—a British banker, inventor and patron of the poet Robert Burns, no earlier than 1791. That’s the date the box was made. King Gustavus III died in 1792 after enduring an infected wound following an assassination attempt at a masked ball. How very Pine Valley-ish.

The box was given to Miller after he offered his double-hulled ship with a paddle wheel to the King. This ship is depicted on the base. The ship--the paddle turned by manpower-- became known in Sweden as “the British sea monster.”

Gifts of Grandeur: The Gustavus III of Sweden Box, 1751

The Gustavus III Box
Swedish, 1751
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at a lot of pretty boxes over the past year and a half. Here’s one more. This enameled gold box is set with a miniature in watercolor on ivory under glass of Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-1792), surrounded by moonstones.

On the base, a miniature of a double-hulled paddle-wheeled ship has been mounted. On the front, a view of a harbor with warships is displayed. The harbor has been identified as the Swedish naval port of Karlskrona. The hinge side of the box features a scene of a fortification which has been identified as Sveaborg, the Swedish fort which is now part of Helsinki. The box’s ends are also mounted with watercolors on ivory of a Swedish gun barge on one side, and, on the other, a Swedish frigate.

King Gustavus III of Sweden presented this box to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731-1815)—a British banker, inventor and patron of the poet Robert Burns, no earlier than 1791. That’s the date the box was made. King Gustavus III died in 1792 after enduring an infected wound following an assassination attempt at a masked ball. How very Pine Valley-ish.

The box was given to Miller after he offered his double-hulled ship with a paddle wheel to the King. This ship is depicted on the base. The ship--the paddle turned by manpower-- became known in Sweden as “the British sea monster.”

Mastery of Design: A Swedish Bridal Crown, 1750-1870

Click image to enlarge.

Swedish Bridal Crown
Silver Gilt
1750-1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

While we tend to treat each bride as a queen on the day of her wedding, Scandinavian brides truly looked the part, wearing bridal crowns which were based on medieval originals made of heavy, gilt silver.

Until very recently, in Sweden, all brides wore some kind of special headdress either a crown or tiara. Traditionally, gilded silver crowns were worn particularly in the east of the country, while, in the rest of the country, the crowns were sometimes made of cloth which was ornately decorated with ribbons, beads, and metallic lace. For centuries, swedish bridal crowns were full-size, however, during the Eighteenth Century, these headpieces became smaller, and were worn on the top of the head. Since most of these crowns were quite costly and elaborate, the bride often would hire or rent a crown. Only the wealthiest families could provide a crown for a bride which she could keep. These were often passed on through generations.

Here’s such a crown. This small, silver-gilt bridal crown is comprised of six upright openwork sections which have visual roots in the style of the renaissance. These sections are joined at the top by a ring of silver-gilt wire, with applied winged angels’ heads. The band at the base is decorated with pyramidal points and more winged angels’ heads in silver and the whole of it is hung with pendants. It was made between 1750 and 1870. 

Mastery of Design: The Gustavus III of Sweden Box, 1751

The Gustavus III Box
Swedish, 1751
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at a lot of pretty boxes over the past year and a half. Here’s one more. This enameled gold box is set with a miniature in watercolor on ivory under glass of Gustavus III of Sweden (1746-1792), surrounded by moonstones.

On the base, a miniature of a double-hulled paddle-wheeled ship has been mounted. On the front, a view of a harbor with warships is displayed. The harbor has been identified as the Swedish naval port of Karlskrona. The hinge side of the box features a scene of a fortification which has been identified as Sveaborg, the Swedish fort which is now part of Helsinki. The box’s ends are also mounted with watercolors on ivory of a Swedish gun barge on one side, and, on the other, a Swedish frigate.

King Gustavus III of Sweden presented this box to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731-1815)—a British banker, inventor and patron of the poet Robert Burns, no earlier than 1791. That’s the date the box was made. King Gustavus III died in 1792 after enduring an infected wound following an assassination attempt at a masked ball. How very Pine Valley-ish.

The box was given to Miller after he offered his double-hulled ship with a paddle wheel to the King. This ship is depicted on the base. The ship--the paddle turned by manpower-- became known in Sweden as “the British sea monster.”