Gold, ivory, emeralds, enamel.
Height 40 mm /89 mm with a crown/.
Width 29 mm /47.6 mm with a frame/.
Weight 42 g.
The miniature portrait from about 1675-1680 depicts Charles XI (1655-1697). Karl XI was the son of Karl X and Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp and became king already at the age of 4. One of the king's most important tasks was to protect the country against internal and external enemies. Karl XI spent much of his adult life in the field and he renewed the army. In the miniature portrait, he is wearing armor. The portrait is attributed to the Frenchman Pierre Signac. He and the Englishman Alexander Cooper were the first miniature painters in Sweden. They came to Queen Kristina's court in 1647 on the advice of the Swedish ambassador in Paris, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. The framework consists of enamelled gold and silver, as well as several table-cut emeralds. Table grinding is the earliest form of bevel grinding. Further in time, so-called emerald grinding was developed, which is a rectangular shape with faceted corners. With no sharp corners, the fragile emerald is less likely to break from shocks and impacts.
Collection of Royal Armoury /Livrustkammaren/, Stockholm.
Height 40 mm /89 mm with a crown/.
Width 29 mm /47.6 mm with a frame/.
Weight 42 g.
The miniature portrait from about 1675-1680 depicts Charles XI (1655-1697). Karl XI was the son of Karl X and Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp and became king already at the age of 4. One of the king's most important tasks was to protect the country against internal and external enemies. Karl XI spent much of his adult life in the field and he renewed the army. In the miniature portrait, he is wearing armor. The portrait is attributed to the Frenchman Pierre Signac. He and the Englishman Alexander Cooper were the first miniature painters in Sweden. They came to Queen Kristina's court in 1647 on the advice of the Swedish ambassador in Paris, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. The framework consists of enamelled gold and silver, as well as several table-cut emeralds. Table grinding is the earliest form of bevel grinding. Further in time, so-called emerald grinding was developed, which is a rectangular shape with faceted corners. With no sharp corners, the fragile emerald is less likely to break from shocks and impacts.