
Ways to discover the collection
Goldsmith’s art
For millenia, gold has been treasured as an especially precious metal. Through its lustre, it is possible to achieve unique effects in art. Gold was furthermore legitimised as a material for Christian cult objects through symbolic interpretation: the Heavenly Jerusalem was supposedly surrounded by golden walls studded with gemstones. In medieval Cologne, treasury art of the highest artistic quality was produced by applying casting, repoussé, engraving and chasing techniques and colourfully combining the precious metal with other metals, gemstones and enamel.