This outstanding jewellery collection of the Cologne Museum of Applied Arts (MAKK) will be showcased for the first time in a dedicated exhibition. Featuring cross-epochal and cross-cultural themes, the exhibition successfully presents diverse approaches to the art of jewellery-making. The photographs of around 370 objects and the accompanying descriptions demonstrate just how multifaceted jewellery design is. The social, societal, emotional, and symbolic aspects of jewellery are also evaluated and discussed in an essay by Beatriz Chadour-Sampson. The MAKK’s jewellery collection of around 1,600 works spans a period of 7,000 years: from ancient oriental gems from the 5th millennium BC to contemporary jewellery. This is what makes this collection so unique and diverse.


Text in English and German.