21st century jewels at Hallwylska Palatset

Artist list

Karin Roy Andersson, Sofia Björkman, Asa Christensson, Karin Johansson, Sanna Svedestedt, Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou

Wilhelmina von Hallwyl was one of Sweden's great collectors at the turn of the last century. Her lasting memorial is the Hallwyl Museum in Stockholm where the extensive and varied Hallwyl Collection is preserved and displayed in its original and opulent setting.

The foreseeing Wilhelmina made sure that everything, down to the smallest details of the collection, was documented in an ambitious catalogue. This process also included detailed descriptions of all household items, jewellery and clothing, turning the family’s life into a time capsule.  In 1920 Walther and Wilhelmina von Hallwyl donated their Stockholm mansion with its contents to the Swedish State. Behind the facade of No 4 Hamngatan the wondrously preserved series of rooms as originally furnished by Wilhelmina von Hallwyl affords a unique testimonial of the lifestyle and décor of the late Victorian period in Sweden.

Imagine if Wilhelmina von Hallwyl had been alive today, and able to develop her collection and interest in art. What would the collection look like in 2016, influenced by the flourishing art jewellery scene? A determined and foresighted woman like Wilhelmina, with an eye for craft and quality, would surely have amassed a magnificent collection of art jewellery. In this exhibition, six contemporary art jewellers take over the Hallwyl Museum.