Goldsmithing

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The imperial crown in the Vienna treasury (gold filigree, precious stones, enamel)

Goldsmithing is the artistic production or decoration of objects from the precious metals gold , silver and platinum .

In the goldsmith's art, gold and silver are mainly alloyed with copper and silver because of their low Brinell hardness and the possibility of changing color and being cheaper. Platinum is alloyed with the platinum metals iridium or palladium . For jewelry purposes, platinum is also alloyed with copper ( jewelry platinum ), cobalt or tungsten (hard for mechanical parts). White gold is made by alloying with palladium or nickel . Low-nickel, inexpensive cast alloys are also formed with cobalt. Other colored gold alloys are possible, such as green gold , which is alloyed with cadmium and used for Grandel jewelry . Sometimes intermetallic compounds are also used for decorative purposes. However, these materials are hard and brittle and are usually set or glued like stones. Especially the so-called became known Blue Gold and Ruby Gold . The latter is made with aluminum . The required hard solders were formed with the addition of metals such as zinc and cadmium for gold solder, which lower the melting point of the alloy (today, due to the health risk, more and more replaced by other additional metals to lower the melting point).

techniques

The precious metals commonly used in goldsmithing (read: metals that do not form a chemical bond with oxygen) can be cast like other metals. Casting techniques such as sand casting , centrifugal casting , sepia casting , chill casting, etc. are used in both craft and industry. A plate cast in the chill mold - called a puddle - is then rolled into sheet metal or wire in order to be further processed with cutting tools ( files , saws ) or with forming techniques such as driving , bending , hammering or drawing processes. The most common joining techniques include soldering and riveting (in rare cases welding ). The final step is usually grinding and polishing or matting .

As a rule, the galvanic possibilities are used today as gold and silver plating techniques . The gilding (silver-plating), based on the evaporation of gold or silver amalgam is today because of the use of toxic mercury carried out by very few companies. Using the latest environmental protection technology and adhering to strict regulations, pieces are restored and manufactured for museums, churches and the art and luxury market.

Ornamental techniques used in goldsmithing are enamel , niello , filigree , engraving , granulation , inlaid , hallmarking and various etching techniques .

Goldsmith items are often set with precious stones , pearls , corals , cameos , gems etc. as well as niello and enamel .

Works of gold and silversmiths are only incompletely preserved, as the works of art were often melted down in times of need because of their pure material value.

history

Early history

Evidence of goldsmithing has existed in Europe since the fifth millennium BC ( Varna culture , Varna burial ground ). Finds are also documented from the time of the Etruscans in Italy or the Thracians in the geographically broad area of ​​the Balkans. In the Bronze Age , gold jewelry, ostentatious weapons and cult implements were made using the same technology as bronze objects . The Celts and Germanic peoples left behind astonishing goldsmith work, which was often related to their cultic customs and astronomy . Excellent evidence of non-European goldsmithing has been preserved from the New Kingdom of Egypt (see Ancient Egyptian Art ), for example the rich jewelry gifts in Tutankhamun's tomb ( KV62 ), or from the Andean cultures with their legendary " Eldorado ".

Ancient and early Middle Ages

Jewelry from Nordendorf, 6./7. Century, Merovingian . Roman Museum, Augsburg

Knowledge of goldsmithing and the formal language of antiquity and Hellenism was preserved in Byzantine art and had an impact on Romanesque art through diplomatic relations and the trade relations of the Carolingians with Byzantium in the early Middle Ages .

From the time of the Great Migration , numerous examples of ostentatious golden weapons, fibulae , jewelry, ornate fittings for bridles and horse saddles, etc. have been found. The Teutons also provided these objects with cut glass inlays or almandines .

Individual finds are from the Viking area , which between the 8th and 11th centuries extended from Scandinavia to Great Britain and Russia at times. In addition, the amber trade had a great influence on the art and culture of the Vikings far into the Mediterranean. They mastered the usual techniques of working fine metal and the technique of gilding bronze and silver. The silver treasure from Cuerdale , Lancashire, which was buried in the 10th century with bracelets, brooches, fittings, etc., which are relatively roughly carved by hallmarking and engraving, is preserved. The brooches, collars and pendants, which were also found in England, testify to the special craftsmanship that they are covered with strings made of gold filigree or decorated with intertwined ornaments and mythical animals made of gold filigree or using the niello technique. These pieces of jewelry were also traded. In this way, the ornamentation developed by the Vikings flowed into goldsmithing and other visual arts of the Romanesque .

middle Ages

Early Middle Ages (9th / 10th century)

Since the Carolingian era, goldsmithing has been one of the most important commissions that could be placed in art. This changed in modern times, and today the craft of precious metal processing is only a marginal area of ​​creative work. The tasks of goldsmithing in the Middle Ages included antependia , liturgical implements , crosses , but above all reliquaries and, outside of the sacred area, the symbols of dignity of the ruler's regalia (crowns, scepter). The glow of gold was conceived in direct relation to the aura of the holy and ruling.

The artistically most important early works are book covers, which were often made as gifts from the emperor. The cover of the Gospel Book of the Codex aureus of St. Emmeram , perhaps made in Reims , is based on the tradition of ancient models with its field division and individual motifs. Of the numerous golden antependums attested in written sources, only the famous paliotto in Sant'Ambrogio (Milan) has survived from the Carolingian period . The so-called Ardennes Cross (around 820–825) is one of the few examples of a gem cross from Carolingian times . Raised stones and strong colors are characteristic of this early period.

After the fall of the Frankish empire , part of the power in the empire passed to the great church princes; accordingly, the workshops were also relocated to the vicinity of important diocese seats. This is how it was created in Trier by Archbishop Egbert on behalf of King Otto III. and his mother Theophanu der Buchdeckel (985/991) of the Codex aureus Epternacensis . Compared to the Emmeran book cover, it now shows more clearly byzantine , cleared and disembodied forms. Also the reliquary for the St Peter's rod (around 980) in Limburg, the Otto-Mathilden-Kreuz (around 980-990) in Essen and the Andreas portable altar (also Egbert shrine, before 993) in the Trier cathedral treasure, commissioned by Egbert himself comes from this workshop. The latter contains the apostle's sandal and is an example of the diverse forms of speaking reliquaries , which were reproduced in the form of the body part or object contained. Head, bust and arm reliquaries are the most common forms. The so-called Berlin frame and the Servatius cross (both around 990) with their ornamental, delicate- colored enamel fields and filigree patterns are also attributed to the Egbert workshop . Around the turn of the millennium , fully sculptural cult images also seem to emerge for the first time. The Essen Golden Madonna (around 980), as the only wooden sculpture still clad in the original gold sheet, illustrates the closeness between the art of sculptors and goldsmiths. Sculpture made in stone is still rare, the works of goldsmithing are still at the top of the hierarchy of the arts, but they are not yet a role model for the development of medieval large-scale sculpture.

11th century

The large golden Basel Antependium , a foundation of Henry II, probably for the consecration of the Basel Minster in 1019 , shows Christ with angels and saints as slim figures in flat relief under arcade arches, an arrangement that requires an - albeit indirect - knowledge of ancient sarcophagus reliefs. In the first decades of the new millennium a series again arises kostbarster crosses, often imperial related donations from Cross particles : before 1022 the great Hildesheim Bernward cross to 1000, the Northern Housing Cross and in Cologne made Lothar Cross in Aachen cathedral treasury to 1006 by the The Giselakreuz donated to the monastery of Niedermünster Regensburg by the Hungarian queen , the imperial cross (around 1025-1030) belonging to the imperial regalia in Vienna , the Cologne Hermann Ida cross (Herimann cross ) around 1050 , the four golden crosses of the Essen cathedral treasure - the earliest of which, the Otto-Mathilden-Kreuz , from the 10th century, the so-called cross with the large sinkholes (before 1011) and the Theophanu cross (1039–1058). The Westphalian Borghorster Stiftskreuz (around 1050) is followed by the Fritzlar Heinrichskreuz (around 1080) and the large gem cross of the Hungarian Queen Adelheid from the St. Blasien Monastery (1086–1108).

12th Century

The Romanesque goldsmith's art of the Staufer era brought significant innovations: Although church equipment and reliquary housings remained the most important tasks, production was shifted over time from the monasteries to the bourgeois workshops of the prosperous cities. Three centers can be clearly identified:

New techniques are now preferred: the pre-Romanesque cell enamel with its translucent colors and the shimmering gold ground is being replaced by the pit enamel with its opaque , brightly colored material. The processing of pure gold is going back in favor of fire-gilded copper or silver. Scenes and figurative motifs are increasing, with the previous soft, relief-like style developing into greater plasticity and enabling fully rounded figures. Pilgrimages and crusades, and later the sacking of Constantinople (1204), brought the holy objects to the north in a wave of reliquary translations , where the proud new owners procured valuable housings for them. In pre-Gothic times they could have the simple box shape of a portable altar . The most famous one, in the Abdinghof monastery in Paderborn , was created by Roger von Helmarshausen , who was previously identified with Theophilus, the famous author of a technology of medieval arts, including goldsmithing techniques. Reliquary shrines , which initially had the shape of coffin-shaped gable boxes, were used for larger reliquary corpora. The most magnificent come from the landscape between the Rhine and Maas: The Heribert shrine was built in Cologne-Deutz from around 1170, where the life story of the saint is assigned to the path of salvation from the Old and New Testament in enamel medallions . A decade later, the Anno Shrine follows from around St. Nicholas of Verdun . The figures have been lost here, but the enamel panels on his Klosterneuburg altar (1181) impressively convey the creative power of what is probably the most important goldsmith of the Middle Ages. Nikolaus is also considered to be the creator of the Dreikönigenschreins in Cologne Cathedral, a great and magnificent work that has been adversely affected by robberies, misunderstood restorations and additions. It has the shape of a seven-bay basilica ; from now on, reliquary shrines take the form of nave-like architecture. The prophets (1181–1191) of the Dreikönigenschreins are among the most important sculptures of their era and gave impetus for the further development of sculpture around 1200. The Karlsschrein in Aachen, commissioned by Barbarossa for the bones of his predecessor, was created around 1200 with its imperial image program. The huge wheel candlesticks made of gilded copper, four of which have survived, such as the Barbarossa chandelier in Aachen Cathedral (around 1165–1170), which stylistically shows the influence of Maasland art , were similarly elaborate, in some cases with an extensive picture program . The Cappenberg Barbarossa head made of gilded bronze is completely isolated and unique in form, material and artistic rank , the "first independent portrait representation of Western art since Carolingian times" (Fillitz).

Gothic

The enamel loses its dominance in the Gothic , with the return to the translucent enamel and the shining through of the silver background, it takes part in the glistening play of light of the increasingly refined architectural elements. This inclusion of architectural elements is (besides the style of folds and figures) the clearest formal characteristic of Gothic goldsmiths. The shrines develop into small chapels. The Maria shrine in Tournai (1204) of Nikolaus von Verdun, the Maria Shrine in Aachen (completed in 1238), the Marburg Elisabeth shrine (around 1250), the (destroyed) shrine of St. Patroclus in Soest (1313) and the two three-tower reliquaries of the Aachen Cathedral Treasure (around 1360/70) represent stages of this development. Other reliquaries have at least one base adorned with tracery . But no liturgical vessel drives the dissolution into a filigree construction of buttresses and pinnacles further than the monstrance , in which the Gothic tendency towards verticalization is most clearly expressed.

From a quantitative point of view, from the sacred implements of the Middle Ages it was above all the indispensable and therefore most likely to be protected goblets in churches and museums that have been preserved. The reliquary treasures of the cathedrals and large collegiate churches were not hidden from the faithful and pilgrims. The first reliquaries with individual facial features were created, such as the amazingly three- dimensional bust of Charlemagne from 1349. The shrines were permanently displayed in altar structures, other display vessels were festively presented in repetitive healing instructions. Other collections of relics were brought together in princely private ownership (e.g. the treasure, the Welfenschatz , the Hallesche Heilum , which was donated to Emperor Charles IV in 1368 by Pope Urban V and was kept for a long time in Karlstein Castle ).

Late Middle Ages

Compared to the still great abundance of church goldsmith's work, profane works from the Middle Ages are extremely rare today. Silverware devices were almost invariably melted down. Individual pieces of jewelry have archeologically come to light. Other treasures, such as the imperial regalia , have withstood the turmoil of time because of their political importance. Only towards the end of the Middle Ages did the number of preserved works, now also from the bourgeois council silver treasures and bourgeois private households, increase slightly. The Goldene Rössl (1404), the Oldenburger Wunderhorn (around 1474/75) and the Schlüsselfelder Ship (around 1503) are of extraordinary importance .

Modern times

Fabergé : Clock Egg , 1899

In the Middle Ages, goldsmiths mainly made ritual devices, but since the Renaissance they have also been working for the secular needs of rulers for pomp and appropriate representation. The most famous example of this period is probably a centerpiece for Francis I of France by Benvenuto Cellini , the so-called Saliera . The need for pomp and display of baroque rulers was expressed in an increasing need for magnificent silverware , centerpieces and precious pompous vessels. A famous goldsmith of this time is Johann Melchior Dinglinger at the court of August the Strong in Dresden. The most important center of the European gold and silversmith's trade at that time was Augsburg .

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the artists of Art Nouveau , Art Deco , Bauhaus , the English Arts & Crafts movement and the Dutch De Stijl also designed jewelry and silver tableware deals. From there, Carl Fabergé in Saint Petersburg served the European monarchies according to their taste, not with design innovations, but with unsurpassed enamel craftsmanship. The need of the Christian churches for cultic devices made of precious metals for worship remains constant up to the present day.

After the Second World War, so-called artist jewelry developed primarily in Germany, Holland and Great Britain ; Munich , Hanau , Pforzheim , Amsterdam and London are centers to be named in this regard.

Museums and collections

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literature

  • Erhard Brepohl : Theory and Practice of Goldsmiths , 16th edition 2008 (first edition 1962), ISBN 978-3446410503 .
  • Dorothee Kemper: The goldsmith's work on the Shrine of the Three Kings. Inventory and history of its restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries Volume 1: Text contributions, Volume 2: Image documentation, Volume 3: Catalog and appendix (Studies on the Cologne Cathedral, Volume 11), Verlag Kölner Dom, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3- 922442-78-3 .
  • Heinrich Kohlhausen: Nuremberg goldsmith's art of the Middle Ages and the Dürer period 1240–1540. Berlin 1968
  • Ernst Günther Grimme : Goldsmith's Art of the Middle Ages. Form and meaning of the reliquary from 800–1500 , Cologne 1972.
  • Carl Hernmarck: The art of European gold and silversmiths , Munich 1978.
  • Ernst Günther Grimme: Reflection of the Eternal. Medieval goldsmithing. Thiemig, Munich 1980, ISBN 978-3-521-04108-0 .
  • Johann Michael Fritz: Gothic Goldsmithing in Central Europe , Munich 1982.
  • Marc Rosenberg : History of goldsmithing on a technical basis. I-II, Frankfurt am Main 1907-1925; Reprint (in one volume) Osnabrück 1972.
  • Silver and Gold - Augsburger Goldschmiedekunst for the courts of Europe , ed. by R. Baumstark and H. Seling, Munich, Hirmer Verlag 1994, catalog book for the exhibition in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, 692 pages with 357 illustrations, 172 of them in color, ISBN 3-7774-6290-X .

Web links

Commons : Goldsmithing  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the Theophilus / Roger question: Andreas Speer and Wiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen: A handbook of medieval art? On a relecture of the Schedula diversarum artium , in: Christoph Stiegmann and Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen (eds.): Treasure art at the rise of the Romanesque. The Paderborn Cathedral portable altar and its surroundings , Munich 2006, pp. 249–258
  2. ↑ Museum in the Ahlen goldsmith's house