A PAIR OF NORTH EUROPEAN CARVED IVORY BUSTS OF KING GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS AND QUEEN CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN

Gustavus Adolphus (1594 -1632), who reigned from 1611 until 1632, initiated many domestic and military reforms which ushered in the beginning of the Swedish Golden Age. Upon his death in battle, he was succeeded by his six-year-old daughter Christina (1626 - 1689). Although her father is known for successfully maintaining the balance of powers within Europe, and promoting Protestantism, during the Thirty Years' War, Christina is best remembered as a patron of the arts in Rome, where she moved in 1656 after abdicating the throne and converting to Catholicism.