Herreportræt 1756 - 1804

This miniature portrait was painted by Cornelius Høyer in the 18th century. The image itself is meticulously rendered, but it's the frame of diamonds set in silver that really catches the eye. Consider the resources that went into this object: the silver, mined and smelted; the diamonds, sourced from distant lands, cut and polished to maximize their brilliance. Each stage involved skilled labor, from the artist who painted the portrait to the jewelers who set the stones. The precious materials elevate the status of the sitter, indicating wealth and position. But they also speak to a wider social context, of trade routes, colonial exploitation, and the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods. The immense amount of work involved in the production process, the labor of so many, is literally crystallized here. So next time you see a jewel, think about the making of it, and all the hands that helped to bring it into being. It changes how you see.