Jewellery
The MAKK preserves an impressive jewelry collection of exceptionally high artistic and artisanal quality. It comprises around 1,700 objects of all types of jewelry such as arm, neck, ear, hair and garment jewelry from over 7,000 years of jewelry history.
The collection is largely the result of generous private donations. It spans from antiquity to the present day and reflects the individual collection profiles of the donors. For example, the goldsmith and professor at the Cologne Werkschulen Elisabeth Treskow enriched the museum with her extensive collection of gems and antique jewelry, while the jewelry collection owes a number of outstanding medieval and Renaissance gems to the patron Wilhelm Clemens. Another focus was shaped by Rosy Petrine Sieversen's extensive foundation and is on the 19th century. In addition to a large number of works by goldsmiths who are not known by name, there are works by Lucien Falize, Eugène Fontenay, Ernesto Pierret, Carlo Giuliano and Casa Castellani.
Art Nouveau jewelry is documented in the collection with works by Lucien Gaillard, Eugène Feuillâtre, Edouard Colonna, René Lalique and Koloman Moser, among others.
Internationally renowned jewelry artists also represent the 20th and 21st centuries. These include Raymond Templier, Lili Schultz, Hildegard Risch, Ewald and Sonja Mataré, Dieter Roth, Emmy van Leersum, Peter Chang, Wendy Ramshaw, Peter Skubic, Herman Jünger, Falko Marx, E.R. Nele, Bernhard Schobinger, Herman Hermsen, Ronne Löwensteyn, Wilhelm Tasso Mattar, Otto Künzli, Karl Fritsch, Nel Linssen and Johanna Dalm. Particularly noteworthy is the work of Elisabeth Treskow, whose extensive estate is held by the MAKK. Her donation contains not only her collection of antiques, but also her own works, sketches and design portfolios, as well as works by her students and colleagues.
In the future, the MAKK would like to strengthen its collection of contemporary author and unique jewelry in order to document the latest developments in jewelry design. These include recent acquisitions by jewelry artists such as Lutz Fritsch, Sam Tho Duong, Ted Noten, David Bielander and Svenja John.
