Bridal Crown
1790-1830 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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, bridal crowns were mainly used in the west of the country, and were usually made from segments hinged together, like the other Norwegian bridal crowns in the V&A collection. This crown is typical of the area around Trondheim in northern Norway, where crowns were made from a solid band of sheet silver, engraved with floral patterns, like this one. It was probably made by a Trondheim silversmith in the late 18th or early 19th century.
Crowns were part of the full wedding attire, and were never worn on their own. This crown would have been accompanied by ribbons and other accessories. The small holes along the base of the crown were used to attach it to a band of cloth, to make it easier to wear.
In Norway, bridal crowns were mainly used in the west of the country, and were usually made from segments hinged together, like the other Norwegian bridal crowns in the V&A collection. This crown is typical of the area around Trondheim in northern Norway, where crowns were made from a solid band of sheet silver, engraved with floral patterns, like this one. It was probably made by a Trondheim silversmith in the late 18th or early 19th century.
Crowns were part of the full wedding attire, and were never worn on their own. This crown would have been accompanied by ribbons and other accessories. The small holes along the base of the crown were used to attach it to a band of cloth, to make it easier to wear.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Sheet silver, partly gilded |
| Brief description | Silver and parcel-gilt bridal crown with pendent lozenges, Trøndelag (Norway), 1790-1830. |
| Physical description | Silver crown, partly gilded, with pendent lozenges. The crown consists of a broad band supporting six segments of sheet silver, pierced, moulded and engraved in floral or shell-like designs and rising to a point at the top. These segments are soldered to each other along their sides. There is a flat spike of silver pinned to the crown between the points of each segment. The top of each spike has a curved disc attached, and each point also has a small spike pinned to its top with a similar motif at the end, made from two discs soldered together to form a flat hollow bead. There are 12 loops attached to the outside of the crown in a band below where the spikes are attached, and 12 more on the tops of the spikes and points. Each of these loops originally held a pendant, but only ten remain. There are traces of gilding on the edges of the pattern. |
| Dimensions | Diameter at top: 10 5/8 inches, diameter at bottom: 4 1/4 inches |
| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Elinor C.L. Close |
| Summary | 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, bridal crowns were mainly used in the west of the country, and were usually made from segments hinged together, like the other Norwegian bridal crowns in the V&A collection. This crown is typical of the area around Trondheim in northern Norway, where crowns were made from a solid band of sheet silver, engraved with floral patterns, like this one. It was probably made by a Trondheim silversmith in the late 18th or early 19th century. Crowns were part of the full wedding attire, and were never worn on their own. This crown would have been accompanied by ribbons and other accessories. The small holes along the base of the crown were used to attach it to a band of cloth, to make it easier to wear. |
| Bibliographic reference | For a similar example, see p.181 of
Fossberg, Jorunnn, Draktsølv, Oslo 1991. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.27-1913 |
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| Record created | March 19, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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