of domed form, centred with a cross with four radiating triangular motifs surrounded by interlaced ornaments, entirely decorated with twisted wirework and granulation.
Illustrated
See no.42 (pg 39) of ‘From Function to Fantasy, The Brooch: From 1200 BCE to the contemporary.’
The design of the brooch derives from 9th to 10th century Viking ornaments of so-called ‘Borre’ style, often featuring interlaced motifs radiating from a central ornament of stylised cross form. Works of similar design were found in Denmark in the late 1850’s forming part of Viking hoards, and the British Museum holds a large-scale silver disc example of that date. The exhibited version of these antique prototypes is highly stylised and of domed, openwork construction, while the originals were of flatter form with a solid base-plate.
Anton Michelson (1809–1877) was born into a family that had specialised in metalwork for several generations. Before attending the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he had trained with the Court goldsmith J.B. Dalho. In 1836 he embarked on a lengthy journey abroad, working in some of the leading goldsmiths’ workshops in Paris and London before establishing his own business in 1841 in Copenhagen. His talent drew the attention of King Christian VIII and he was soon commissioned to make jewellery for members of the Royal family; he was also tasked with redesigning Royal medals and insignia, which required the addition of enamelling to his workshop’s repertoire. Appointed Court and Order Jeweller, he was the only Danish goldsmith represented at the 1855 Exposition Universelle, and the only Danish jeweller to exhibit silver at that held in 1900.
The brooch is very similar to an example in the British Museum collection retailed by the firm of A. Borgen & Co., importers of Danish manufactures and works of art and the sole agents in England of the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Copenhagen. Its ‘Royal Danish Galleries’ opened on New Bond Street in 1869, under the patronage of Princess Alexandra, the daughter of Christian IX of Denmark, who married the future King Edward VII in 1863. In 1862, a suite of jewellery in the ‘Old Norse Style’22 was bought from Michelson as a wedding gift for the Princess. Such jewels, as well as others inspired from Iron Age prototypes including substantial torques and cuff bracelets, formed a substantial display amongst the wedding gifts when they were exhibited at the South Kensington Museum the following year.
This stimulated the taste for Scandinavian revival jewellery, which would continue with the presence of the Royal Danish Galleries in London until they closed in 1880.
The British Museum brooch is almost identical to an example made by Emil Ferdinand Dahl (1814-1879) of Copenhagen, reproduced as an engraving in the Art Journal Illustrated catalogue of the International Exhibition, 1862 23 recording the works the Danish firm exhibited there. The only difference between them is that the engraving shows the cross to have incurved sides.
The current work would also appear to be made by Dahl and retailed by Michelsen, although its design was a popular one. Vilhelm Christesen (1822-1899) of Copenhagen, another supplier to Borgen, showed a similar version at the Exposition Universelle of 1867. Dahl broadened the international interest in Scandinavian style jewellery by participating in the International Exhibition of Vienna in 1873 and the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878.