Ca 50 X 20 mm, length ca 38.5 cm, weight 30.5 g. Stamped AHE, likely LH Ertman, active 1786-1813 in Kalmar.
During the 19th century, gold jewelry became increasingly associated with the rising bourgeoisie. As economic and social structures shifted, the middle classes sought to express status, taste, and respectability through refined yet wearable adornment. These pieces often balanced elegance with restraint, favoring craftsmanship and quality materials over ostentation. Gold—valued for both its intrinsic worth and symbolic permanence—was shaped into brooches, chains, and rings that reflected contemporary ideals of order, symmetry, and classical inspiration.