Brooch thumbnail 1
Brooch thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91 to 93 mezzanine, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Brooch

1867 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The brooch was the most important piece of jewellery in Norwegian traditional dress. There are well over 50 different names for ring brooches in Norwegian. Each kind of brooch has its own distinctive name, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.

In the 1860s, Norwegian silversmiths working in the main towns started to make fashionable jewellery in traditional Norwegian styles. Jacob Tostrup was one of the leaders of this movement. This brooch is among the first examples of this new style. Although it uses traditional techniques and patterns, it is much too fragile to have been worn with traditional costume. It was probably intended as a souvenir of typical Norwegian craftsmanship.

It is marked on the back with full silver marks for the period. 13 ¼ L stands for 828 standard silver, and was used before around 1880. TOSTRUP 1867 is the maker’s mark and date of manufacture. CHRISTIANIA is the old name for Oslo, the Norwegian capital. It was renamed Oslo in 1925. In the acquisitions register, this brooch is described as bought from Mr Tostrup for £1 8s 6d at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver and filigree, partly gilded
Brief description
Silver brooch, partly gilded, with numerous filigree pendants, Norway, 19th century.
Physical description
Silver brooch, made from a disc of sheet silver, slightly curved and gilded on the front. Round the edge of this disc are ten coil rings, each with a loop in the centre, holding a pendant of three filigree 'eyes', with a curved bowl pendant at the bottom. Ten more pendants of the same design hang from loops between the coil rings. There is a filigree rosette over the central disc. Several of the pendants are damaged or missing.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.5cm
  • Length: 8.5cm
  • Depth: 1.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '13 1/4 L' (On back of back-plate.)
    Translation
    Mark for 828 standard silver, used in Norway before about 1880
  • 'TOSTRUP 1867' (On back of back-plate.)
    Translation
    Mark of Jacob Tostrup of Oslo, and date of manufacture
  • 'CHRISTIANIA' (On back of back-plate.)
    Translation
    Place of manufacture. Christiania was the name used for Oslo before 1877.
Summary
The brooch was the most important piece of jewellery in Norwegian traditional dress. There are well over 50 different names for ring brooches in Norwegian. Each kind of brooch has its own distinctive name, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.

In the 1860s, Norwegian silversmiths working in the main towns started to make fashionable jewellery in traditional Norwegian styles. Jacob Tostrup was one of the leaders of this movement. This brooch is among the first examples of this new style. Although it uses traditional techniques and patterns, it is much too fragile to have been worn with traditional costume. It was probably intended as a souvenir of typical Norwegian craftsmanship.

It is marked on the back with full silver marks for the period. 13 ¼ L stands for 828 standard silver, and was used before around 1880. TOSTRUP 1867 is the maker’s mark and date of manufacture. CHRISTIANIA is the old name for Oslo, the Norwegian capital. It was renamed Oslo in 1925. In the acquisitions register, this brooch is described as bought from Mr Tostrup for £1 8s 6d at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Bibliographic reference
Illustrated in: 'Italian Jewellery as worn by The Peasants of Italy. Collected by Signor Castellani, and purchased from the Paris Universal Exhibition for The South Kensington Museum', London, Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowledge of Art, 1868, plate 12, 'Peasant Jewellery. Modern Turkish, Norwegian, Danish', where it was included under: ‘Modern Norwegian Popular Jewellery. Bought at the Paris Exhibition, 1867.’
Collection
Accession number
563-1868

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 6, 2007
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest