Leseprobe

275 Gustavus II Adolphus of the House of Vasa was born on 9 December 1594 at the Three Crowns Castle in Stockholm (fig. 1). At that time, his cousin Sigismund Vasa was still King of Sweden and Poland, but Gustavus Adolphus’s father, Duke Charles, reigned as regent while King Sigismund was in Poland. Gustavus Adolphus’s father had, in effect, over- seen government affairs since 1599, and was declared King of Sweden as Charles IX in 1604.When he died in October 1611, Gustavus Adolphus was not yet 17 years old, but he nevertheless assumed control of the government. Art as a demonstration of great power status Gustavus Adolphus’s predecessors on the Swedish throne had not assembled art collections or treasuries of the kind found in many other places in Europe.1 After 1560, however, when Gustav I Vasa, the founder of the Swedish hereditary kingdom, had died and been succeeded by his son Erik, a number of magnificent ceremonial objects had been acquired for the purpose of enhancing the prestige of the hereditary monarchy and the new dynasty. During the reign of Erik XIV, for example, precious ceremonial items such as the Swedish imperial regalia and a coronation robe had been made, with the aim of consolidating the position of the Vasa family on the throne. On the occasion of his coronation in 1607, Charles IX had had other magnificent imperial jewels crafted, such as a collar and a ring. Gustavus Adolphus likewise made sure that lavish garments and a number of precious items were commissioned for the important royal ceremonies.They were intended as visible demonstrations of his power and authority. One such example is the set of garments he had made for his coronation in Uppsala Cathedral in 1617.This ensemble, which has been preserved, consists of a jacket, hose and collar, tailored by Baltzar Dinet (fig. 2). Originally, the outfit also included a cloak. The fabric is white silk satin, embroidered with silver threads and sequins by Carl Plageman, and the seams and edges are decorated with narrow silver gallons. The embroidered patterns show lilies growing through open crowns—symbols of purity and heavenly blessing—which also appear on the coronation medal of Gustavus Adolphus.2 The tradition of wearing a white or silver costume at the coronation had been intro- Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden. “For his perpetual commemoration” MALIN GRUNDBERG FIG. 1 Georg Petel, Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden , Augsburg model, 1632, cast in Augsburg (?), c. 1650, bronze, h. 69.5 cm, w. 67 cm, d. 40 cm, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Skulpturensammlung, inv. no. H4 154 / 022