Brooch thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Brooch

1865-1870 (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, and this is one of those brooches. It is shaped like a traditional bolesølje ring brooch, but the central tang is non-functional, and there is a modern brooch fitting on the back. It was made by Jørgen Grinderud, the son of Tor Grinderud of Lunde in Telemark, who was one of the leaders of the new movement.

It was bought for £1 16s.at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Sheet silver decorated with applied filigree
Brief description
Silver brooch (bolesølje) decorated with applied filigree, Telemark (Norway), 1865-1870.
Physical description
Circular silver brooch made from a flat sheet of silver decorated all over with applied filigree. At the centre is a raised cylinder with a central space, like a ring brooch, with a small tang soldered across it. The central cylinder is surrounded by a circle of six other cylinders, each bordered with a ring of coil rings. The edge of the back plate is scalloped, and there is a modern pin fitting attached at the back.
Dimensions
  • Length: 7.6cm
  • Diameter: 7.4cm
  • Depth: 1.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
'J G' in rectangular frame. (Twice on back.)
Translation
Mark of Jørgen Grinderud of Lunde.
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, and this is one of those brooches. It is shaped like a traditional bolesølje ring brooch, but the central tang is non-functional, and there is a modern brooch fitting on the back. It was made by Jørgen Grinderud, the son of Tor Grinderud of Lunde in Telemark, who was one of the leaders of the new movement.

It was bought for £1 16s.at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.
Collection
Accession number
1344-1873

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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