The National Museum has received a gift of six unique pieces of jewelery designed by the silversmith and jewelery designer Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou. The jewelery is in gold, oxidized silver, brilliants, tanzanite, ruby ​​and mandarin garnet and designed between 1974 and 2007. The gift comes from the artist himself, who after over 60 years of activity is closing down his studio in Östersund.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou (b. 1937) started at Konstfack in 1956. During her active period, the art of jewelry has developed from discreet, modernist objects where portability and function were important to jewelry that shows individual artistic expression. Öhlin Lejonklou has to a great extent herself contributed to this development and her jewelery tells something about the wearer's personality. She has repeatedly worked with geometric shapes. “One day I fell in love. In love with a cube," she says. Her works have revolved around variations in surface treatments, combinations with stones, technical solutions and with inspiration from mechanics. Not to mention stylized birds in many variations. As a jewelry artist, she has created for both parties and everyday life, and as a silversmith communion silver and other sacred needs. All with incredible craftsmanship. The six pieces of gold, oxidized silver, brilliants, tanzanite, ruby ​​and mandarin garnet jewelry now donated were designed between 1974 and 2007.

- By Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou there is already a piece of jewelery from the National Museum's exhibition Young Swedish Silver which was shown in 1965 and a magnificent brooch from 2000 in the collection. With this very generous donation, we can now show her breadth in a way that the museum would otherwise not be able to acquire for financial reasons, says Micael Ernstell, curator of arts and crafts at the National Museum.

The jewelery will be part of the exhibition The Joy of Giving , which highlights some of the important donations of precious metals handed over to the museum in recent decades. The exhibition will be shown in the Fokusgalleriet on the middle level from 5 July 2023.

The National Museum has no government funds to acquire design, crafts and art, because the collections are enriched through gifts and private foundation and fund funds. The acquisition is a generous gift from silversmith Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Torbjörn Armgård, Ring with case "Sahara", 1974. Gold, ruby. Brown velvet case. NMK 48/2023.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Necklace "Sahara", 1981. Gold, tanzanite, brilliants. NMK 49/2023.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Lena Olofsson, Brooch "Coq d'or", 1989. Gold, ruby, brilliants. NMK 50/2023.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Lena Olofsson, Brosch, 2003. Silver, gold, mandarin garnet. NMK 51/2023.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Lena Olofsson, Brooch, 2003. Silver, gold. NMK 52/2023.

Kerstin Öhlin Lejonklou, Lena Olofsson, Brosch, 2007. Oxidized silver, gold, brilliants. NMK 53/2023.