The 21st Silver Triennial at Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum

Whether bowls or a teapot, vases or a lantern – the spectrum of objects submitted for the 21st International Silver Triennial is wide. Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum presents the creations selected from this competition for the promotion of the work of contemporary silversmiths, which has been organised by the Association for the Promotion of the Goldsmith’s Art and the German Goldsmiths’ House in Hanau since 1965. Meanwhile, thanks to presentations both in Germany and abroad, the Silver Triennial has become a series of travelling exhibitions that enjoys international recognition.

This time too, visitors can admire exceptional silver objects whose designs and craftsmanship testify to artistic sophistication and an impeccably high level of artisanal precision. »The diversity of the exhibits is fascinating and, thematically, ties in well with our previous exhibition on dining cultures, titled ‘Dinner Is Served’,« says Friederike Zobel, the Museum’s director.
The creations ingeniously bridge the gap between utilitarian objects and works of art, and effectively highlight the aesthetic qualities of silver, observes curator Katja Poljanac.

By organising the Silver Triennial, the Association for the Promotion of the Goldsmith’s Art pursues the goal of supporting the silversmith’s craft and its
reorientation. Since it expanded into an international competition in 1992, it has gained additional impetus and reflects worldwide trends. In the past twenty years, the jurors have increasingly been impressed by creations from Asia.

The superbly designed vessels and intriguing objects juxtaposed in this Silver Triennial to striking effect compellingly illustrate the multifaceted ways of working with silver. The pieces selected bear witness to the artists’ in-depth involvement with shapes, surface textures and a wide variety of themes, explains Malte Guttek, Director of the German Goldsmiths’ House in Hanau.

The fact that both renowned designers and young up-and-coming talents submitted their works confirms the competition’s undiminished appeal. A total of 195 creations by 137 applicants from 21 countries were received, of which 67 pieces by 59 applicants from 15 countries were accepted. The jury of experts included Beate Leonards, silversmith from Lübeck, Wim Nys, curator at the DIVA Museum in Antwerp, and Karen Pontoppidan, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
They conferred eight prizes, worth a total of 20,000 euros, to Yeunhee Ryu, Yong-il Jeon and Jieun Park in the main competition, and in the competition to support young talents to Yegyu Shin, Siqui Zhang, Jae Hui Jeong, Carl Kankowsky and Rebecca Bierbrodt, who are from Korea, China and Germany, respectively.

In addition to presenting the objects from the Silver Triennial, the Jewellery Museum showcases its highlights made of silver and diamonds, as well as from its Ethnographic collection, plus select Grossé Sterling pieces. Also, later on in the year, students from the Design, Jewellery and Utensils vocational college programme at Pforzheim’s Goldsmithing School will be exhibiting their creations.
Moreover, fashion and photography are on display in relation to each other as compelling examples of where applied art meets fine art.


Cool Brilliance – the Jewellery Museum’s highlights made of silver and diamonds.
Everything that glitters catches people’s eye. No other metal reflects light as much as silver. It has a bright, warm white hue to which it owes its Latin name of argentum.

In historico-cultural contexts, silver is associated with the moon and the stars. Actually, silver was created during a supernova explosion and hurled into
space. These aspects are explored through the multimedia installation in the exhibition, explains curator Katja Poljanac.

The cool brilliance of diamonds is shown off to maximum advantage only in a setting of white precious metal, something that suited people’s self-indulgent desire for luxury and extravagance in the Baroque and Rococo periods. Well into the 19th century, diamonds used in jewellery were often set in silver because white gold still had to be invented, and the methods for processing platinum weren’t fully developed yet. So it was not uncommon back then for people to favour silver over gold. In its Historical collection, the Museum spotlights the multifaceted importance of silver and places the metal a historico-cultural context.


Afghanistan, Oman or the Black Forest? Silver highlights from the ethnographic Herion collection
Ancient silver finds date back to the 5th millennium BC and were excavated in the mountainous region between Asia Minor and Afghanistan. But silver was also mined in the Black Forest since the Middle Ages. It is still popular worldwide in the form of jewellery or as a means of payment, as is testified by the Eva and Peter Herion collection in the Jewellery Museum’s “What Is Jewellery?” presentation. The respective exhibition area can be rediscovered with this aspect in mind, not least with the help of a digital excavation table that allows visitors of all ages to slip into the role of archaeologists. With a little skill, they can unearth silver treasures from all over the world – an interactive fun game for the entire family. The originals can be admired in the exhibition room.


Notes in the Margin – fashion and photography by Monika Markert and Silke Helmerdig
Under the title of Notes in the Margin, the fashion designer Monika Markert and the photographer Silke Helmerdig showcase fashion and photography in the foyer of the Reuchlinhaus. Fashion is located somewhere between aesthetics and functionality, tradition and modernity, life and experience. The exhibits feature recurrent, decorative and/or festive elements of traditional costume from different cultures, juxtaposed with contemporary accents.

The decorative attributes of the garments, such as pleats, fringes, shiny fabrics, high-quality materials like silk or wool, correlate with the respective wearer’s appearance and their traditional hairstyles including braids, long, loose hair or upswept hairdos. The goal is to adorn and to allow the beauty of each individual wearer to unfold. The exhibits present themselves as an aesthetic symbiosis of life experiences gained and our perception of the visually constantly changing world we live in. The compositions have been created by adopting shapes and patterns from our everyday lives and reinterpreting them. They are deliberately reduced to mere parts of a garment, to textile notes.

This reduction lends the combination of modernity and tradition, of pragmatism and adornment a powerful expressiveness, facilitating a dialogue between the elements in the room, the photos displayed in relation to the clothes, and the architecture of the iconic exhibition venue. The exhibition is not intended to represent a finished process. Its process-oriented character enables the further development of an idea, up to a functional piece of clothing.


The exhibitions have been devised and curated by Katja Poljanac under the overall supervision of Friederike Zobel, the Museum’s director.


Opening hours:
Wed-Sun and holidays: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)
>> Visitor information
Admission to the permanent exhibition € 4.50, reduced price € 2.50 | Family ticket € 22 | Free admission for children no older than 14 and for
holders of a Museums-Pass-Musées.
Guided tours for groups by appointment.
Public guided tours through the permanent exhibition Sun 3 p.m., € 6.50, reduced price € 4.50
Partners: Pforzheimer Zeitung and SWR2 | For more information, please visit www.schmuckmuseum.de