The Treasury

Luxurious objects from the era of Sweden as a great power

This is an exhibition full of eye-catching objects, made of precious metals and exotic materials. But the baroque luxury is not only frivolity and splendour, it brings the establishment into focus.

Läckö Castle is the natural choice for this exhibition, since Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie is considered to be the man who brought luxury to Sweden.

The Treasury at Läckö proves that an astonishing amount of the riches of the 17th century are preserved due to the peaceful history of Sweden.

Grape- and nautilius goblets are surrounded by silver dishes and pots. Here you can find the colorful Urbino ‘fajan’ set of Queen Kristina, and miniature portraits of Magnus Gabriel. Amber boxes are glowing next to the De la Gardie turtle set and brittle Venetian glasses.

The Treasury has been implemented by a substantional donation from Sparbanksstiftelsen Lidköping, as well as objects loaned from Nationalmusem. This makes the Treasury at Läckö one of the exhibitions with the largest number of objects of its kind. The display is produced by Nationalmuseum, in cooperation with Läckö Castle Foundation and Statens fastighetsverk/The National Property Board Sweden.

The Armoury

During Sweden’s age of greatness, hunting was an exclusive form of entertainment for the upper classes. For princes and noblemen, hunting game in the forests was considered useful practice for warfare. Special rooms were furnished in castles and large country houses, where weapons and armour would be displayed for visitors. For gentlemen, hunting weapons were important status symbols that combine advanced technics in firing mechanisms with expensive materials and artistic design.

A substantial array of firearms is on display in the Läckö Castle Armoury. One can see wheel-lock guns richly inlaid with mother of pearl, matchlock muskets with ornamentation carved in walnut, and pistols with stocks of polished ebony and ivory.

This collection was created by the industrialist and diplomat Axel Wallenberg (1874-1963). After his many years abroad, he started to build up his collection par excellence of wheel-lock guns from the 16th and 17th centuries. Amongst other things, Wallenberg acquired several exquisite weapons when the collection beloning to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar was sold in 1927. On two separate occasions, Axel Wallenberg donated large parts of his collection to the Swedish Army Museum. These weapons are displayed to the public for the first time in Läckö Castle.

The exhibition has been made possible through a generous donation from the Ragnar Söderberg Foundation.
The display is presented by Nationalmuseum, in cooperation with Läckö Castle Foundation, Statens fastighetsverk/The National Property Board Sweden and the Swedish Army Museum.