Every bride is a queen on her wedding day. Throughout the world brides wear special jewellery, such as tiaras or crowns, to reflect this. In Scandinavia, bridal crowns are the most spectacular part of the wedding jewellery. Their design is based on medieval royal originals, and they are made of heavy silver, often gilded.

In Norway all brides wore some kind of special headdress. In the south and east of the country it was usually made of cloth or other material, smothered with ribbons, beads and silver appliqués. Bridal crowns were mainly used in the west of Norway. They were always expensive. Some date back to the seventeenth or eighteenth century, and were handed down as heirlooms in wealthy farming families. Others, like this one, are more recent. This crown has full silver marks showing that it was made by Lauritz Hammer in Bergen in 1863. Lauritz Hammer was a silversmith who specialised in making traditional jewellery, as did his father Søren, and his son Marius.

These crowns are full of symbolic values. The crown itself recalls the crown of the Virgin, and represents purity or virginity. The lions facing each other above each panel are symbols of strength. The birds at the top of each hinge are cocks, which are an old symbol of fertility. The dangling leaves and dish-shaped pendants are typical of Scandinavian jewellery of all kinds, and were intended to deflect evil spirits.