244 Museum notes

The Treasure Vault, Royal Palace, Stockholm

I. This account of the aesthetic as well as constructional and technical problems met with is given by the palace architect responsible for the work, Professor Sven Ivar Lind. Dr Stig Fogelmarck, Assistant Curator of the Royal Collections, has been consulted in matters of cultural history, and has also prepared the guide to the exhibition. I t was Dr Fogelmarck‘s article in Suenskn illzmer (Vol. 3, No. 4, I 96& which resulted in the vaults under the south wing of the palace being chosen for the planned exhibition.

’

Since the year 1594, the Swedish crown jewels, among which the oldest date from the I ~ ~ O S , have been in charge of Sweden’s oldest existing government office, Kungliga Kammarkollegiet. The crown jewels were kept on its premises, which were situated in Stockholm Palace until the middle of the eighteenth century, and in 1907, still under the ‘four keys’ of the Kollegium they were placed in the vaults of the Bank of Sweden.

Since the succession of King Gustav V in 1907, when he announced his intention of abstaining from the coronation ceremony, various plans have been considered to make the crown jewels accessible to the public by means o f a permanent exhibition, as has been done in Austria, Denmark, the U.S.S.R., and the United Kingdom. The last plan, which was to place the jewels in the vaults under the south wing of Stockholm Palace where the throne room and the royal chapel are situated, mas drawn up in 1969 and passed by the Riksdag the same year. On 12‘May 1970, the new Treasure Vault was inaugurated.

Although there is now a public exhibition of the crown jewels, the responsibility for them still rests with the Kammarkollegiet, which possesses the ‘four keys’. The office of the Governor of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, who was answerable for the building and installation of the exhibition, is in charge of maintenance and, in conjunc- tion with the national police board, of secu- rity measures.

The perniatimt exhibition OJ’ ihe Siupdirh crowti ieweh.’ The crown jewels have an official relationship with the throne room and the chapel. Certain regalia are regularly used in ceremonies, for example the crown and sceptre at the opening of the Riksdag every year. Considering the function of the jewels, the Treasure Vault is not a museum in the usual sense of the word.

Aside from the jewels, there are also exhibited the royal cloak, which is draped over the silver throne during ceremonies in the throne room, the royal silver baptismal font, certain insignia and pieces of jewellery

and the King Sveno tapestry, one of the tapestries of a set woven for King Erik XIV in the I 560s. A selection of leather cases and boxes and one of the iron chests with an intricate lock, in which the crown jewels were previously kept, are to be seen in an adjoining room.

The vault lies some 23 feet below ground level, and is reached by a staircase from the entrance in the south archway. This part of the palace was built by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, after the fire of 1G97. The walls consist partly of natural stone blocks from the ice-age formation upon which the palace stands and partly-mainly in the interior-of brick.

As the building structure was already established, planning consisted in choosing suitable rooms among those available. Dif- ferent combinations were considered with regard to the technical problems connected xvith an exhibition, circulation of the public, etc., and security. The latter, as well as the need for a lift to enable visits by disabled persons, was the guiding principle. In order to bring the lift down through a heavily loaded vault supporting walls were neces- sary. The resiting of existing ducts caused considerable work. The original masonry, examined by extracting drill cores and by using a drill-hole telescope, proved to be surprisingly difficult to penetrate even with technically advanced equipment.

The Treasure Vault itself consists of two connecting rooms with a combined area of about I Z O square metres, behind a door of safe-deposit type (Figs. 93-95). Outside of these is an entrance foyer of about 65 square metres (Fig. 96), and various other rooms such as store-rooms, staff-room, room for an air-conditioning plant and other techni- cal equipment and instruments, as well as an observation room and controls. The secondary space, not including the staircase, has a total area of about 8s square metres and is fully used. The administration is situated elsewhere. In the foyer catalogues and photographs, etc., are sold. It also serves as a buffer when the stream of visitors to the Treasure Vault must be held up. The

The Treasure Vault, Royal Palace, Stockholm 24.5

93

Stockholm. Plan. I-XI, showcases; XII, baptismal font; XIII, leather boxes; XIV, chest; XV, tapestry. ( I ) Staircase; (2) lift; (3) foyer; (4) treasure vault; (j) treasure vault. 94 KUNGLIGA SLOTTET, KUNGLIGA

Stockholm. Treasure vault

KUNGLIGA SLOTTET, K U N C L I G A H U S G E R I D S K l i h l ~ ~ a R E N ,

HUSGEKADSKAMMAREN,

(see plan, Fig. 95(4)).

94

246 Museum notes

public can be entertained there by looking at picture slides, etc. For security reasons there is no cloakroom.

Security measures are based upon an in- vestigation and estimation of risks and have been carried out in consultation with the national police board. Structural protection is supplemented by several independent alarm and code systems, as well as detailed routines which are followed up and re- examined in conjunction with the police. The alarm systems are connected with dif- ferent receiving stations through several channels. Iinoaledge of security measures and the handling of different technical in- stallations is divided between several insti- tutions and persons. Great emphasis has been laid upon the protection of both staff and public. Watchmen and other staff on duty, as well as the public, are constantly under surveillance by sheltered guards who operate controls and communications. Pho- tography is not allowed.

The crown jewels, insignia, etc., are exhib- ited in display-cases which give temporary protection against acts of violence. Other exhibits are more or less protected from dust and harmful contacts. All display-cases are free standing. This arringement intrudes upon the floor space, but makes it possible for more visitors to examine the exhibits at

any one time and to study them from all sides. An observer is able to linger over a detailed examination without obstructing others. Circulation is optional, but suitable direction is suggested by the numbers of the display-cases which can be found in the printed introduction given to visitors.

The cases consist of a stand built of heavy steel sections to a height of about go centi- metres from the floor. Above this is a cover of laminated safety glass to about 180 centi- metres from the floor. The purpose of the relatively heavy construction is, aside from protection, to give the case great rigidity and inertia, in order to lessen the risk of a false alarm being given by mischief-makers. The cases are opened with the aid of a hydraulic device.

The top surface of the steel stand is covered in dark brown leather, as are also the pedestals supporting the exhibits. The numbers (roman numerals) of the display- cases are engraved on double-sided black oxidized brass. The catalogue numbers of the exhibits are printed in gold on leather- covered plates.

Crown jewels can be looked upon as artefacts, weapon smithery, gold and silver jewellery decorated with precious stones, enamel and engraving. Their real function is, however, symbolic, and their splendour

-.-

The Treasure Vault, Royal Palace, Stockholm

serves to emphasize their mysterious and semi-sacred character. Therefore not only should the jewels themselves be seen, but also something of the legendary glamour that surrounds them. This view decided the general character of the exhibition. The jewels should be felt as a presence shining from their own light, and in order that this presence may be even more deeply felt, the surroundings must be subdued.

In an exaggerated form, a programme of this kind can be realized by lighting the objects by means of a light beam shaped exactly to the outline of the object by a purpose-made mask. The object will then appear without shadows in a space which is only suggested in so far as it is illuminated by the reflected light that the object itself appears to emit-as the moon in a nocturnal landscape. This gave a point of departure. The lighting fixtures should consist of a pro- jector with lens system and masking. How- ever, it was not simply a matter of finding equipment with suitable qualities and decid- ing upon its position in relation to the exhib- its and the public. The problem mas far more complicated.

The crown jewels must of necessity be exhibited under glass, preferably in detached display-cases lighted from outside. Cases of rhis kind have reflecting surfaces both inside

~ ~ ~~ ~

and out. A strongly lit object is reflected not only in the glass surfaces of its own case but also in other cases. The darker the sur- roundings, the more noticeable is the reflec- tion.

There are other requirements, however, for which it is necessary to consider illumina- tion of the space surrounding the cases and their exhibits. It must be possible to read the catalogue and to survey the rooms by tele- vision. A light floor ghes a pleasant feeling of safety, but at the same time, from a certain distance, it gives a reflection in glass below eye-level. Light walls behind the cases lessen the inconvenient reflections, but they reduce the strong impression made by a brilliantly lit object in a dim room. As the problem contains intrinsic conflict, a compromise must be sought.

The vaults of the ceiling and the walls had been rough cast and lime-washed when the premises were used as store-rooms. These layers, which in places mere firmly attached to the masonry, were removed, so that the surface appeared in its unpretentious charac- ter of rough cellar walls, partly rejointed and repaired. This gave the desired darker shade for the background to the exhibits- plain materials in contrast to their costly appearance, a rough texture altogether un- like their delicate and minute details. The

9s KUNGLIGA SLOTTET, KUNGLIGA HUSGERKDSKAMMAREN, Stockholm. Treasure vault (see plan, Fig. 93(5)).

KLJNGLIGA SLOTTET, I~UNGLIGA

Stockholm. The foyer.

96

HUSGER~DSKAMMAREN,

96

Museum notes

97 KIJNGLIG:~ SLOTTET, I~UNGLIGA HUSGERÅDSIC AMMAREN, Stockholm. Entrance stairs.

heavy steel stands of the display-cases are painted near black with a matt surface.

One of the practical difficulties met with during planning was the fact that the crown jewels could not he removed from the safe custody of the Bank of Sweden until their new place of safekeeping was completed and with security devices in working order. There could be no trial arrangements of the exhibits, nor of their lighting. But, while the protecting foundation of reinforced concrete under the new premises was being cast, the exact size and position of rhe dis- play-cases had to be definitely decided upon.

The principle of the intended lighting was tried out in a similar room on a simpli- fied test showcase containing models of some of the exhibits. This resulted in some advantages being made clear, and also re- vealed certain difficulties, although by no means all. The electric wiring system for the lighting plant was installed when the crown jewels could be moved. Their group- ing in the cases, the construction of pedes- tals and of brackets for the projectors as well as the definitive adjustment of lighting had to be done during the limited time be- tween the removal of the jewels and the inauguration.

The staircase from the south archway is lighted by means of an electric cable of the type used to illuminate shopping streets at Christmas (Fig. 97). It winds around the stair newel through two floors, and has lamps at I-metre intervals, the stronger near the entrance. In the foyer, general lighting is effected with clear globes. The exhibits here are under spotlights. For general lighr- ing in the jewel rooms there are cylindrical metal fittings. Even the pink sandstone floor under the cases is lighted in order to dissolve cast shadows.

All of these groups have Thyristor dim- mers. The adjustment of the lighting in the display-cases, and the lighting around them, is of great importance for the general im- pression. The exhibits in the jewel rooms are illuminated with Coemar-type projectors with So-watt and 7j-watt lamps. The light beam is not limited to the outline of one object (in most of the cases there are two or more objects), but, by means of beam-shaping shutters, to the outline of the bottom surface of the case inside the glass. Other methods of beaming are also used. All the crowns, as

well as some other objects, by virtue of their shape, need light from the side or, by reflection, from underneath. The projectors are set horizontally for better cooling, and the light beams are directed by means of adjustable mirrors. The lighting fixtures are attached to supports of hollow sections, and cable ducts for wiring and branching equip- ment are hung under the ceiling vaults. In one or two cases, for the illumination of the tapestry, for example, a different projector has been chosen (Mini Spot from Rank Strand Electric).

An emergency lighting system is installed and the electrical systems are operated from a sheltered control-room.

The adjustment of the lighting was based solely upon direct visual impression, with- out help from any instrument other than the eye. The crown jewels are the most luminous, their immediate background is less luminous, and the surrounding walls and roof are dark. There are, however, local variations. Reflections occur, but they are not so noticeable that the eye cannot easily ignore them.

k K E SETTERWALL

Picture credits

Cover, Rapho (Maurice Zalewski); frontispice, Rapho (Ernst Scheidegger); 2-15, Musées de Rennes, Rennes; 16-22, Musée de Niamey, Niamey; 24-34,43-50, Néprajd Muzeum, Budapest; 35-39, 41, 42, Kovács Tamás, Budapest; 53, 55-62, Museo de Historia Natural, México, D.F.; 63-68, Museo Civic0 di Storia Naturale, Milano; 69,70,73-77, Museobus Linder; 72, Jacqueline Hyde; 78-86, Ethnikz PinakothëkE Kai Mouzeion Aleksandrou Soutsou, Athenai; 87-92, The Australian Museum, Sydney (C. V. Turner); 94, Ensamrätt Lennart af Petersens, Stockholm; 95-97, Kungliga Slottet, Kungliga Husgeradskammaren.