I especially enjoyed the collection of Ethnic Jewellery. I don't think I have ever really seen ethnic/tribal jewellery before and on the rare occasion when I might have it would have been displayed in an Anthropological museum rather than one focused purely on jewellery. The ethnic collection showcased pieces collected by Eva and Peter Herion who had collected the pieces over more than thirty years on their worldwide travels.
The pieces from Papua New Guinea were my favourite, incorporating rare feathers into their designs. It was really interesting to see jewellery that was not inspired by western influences. The pieces displayed were made purely for tribal use, to show power, healing, status wealth etc. Every piece is representative of something in its tribal context, unlike jewellery of today's western culture where jewellery can be worn for purely aesthetic reasons.
The contemporary collection contained many works which I had seen only in books. Peter Chang's brightly coloured pieces were great to see in real life and looked even more vibrant and lively than in pictures I had seen. A Rene Lalique pendant (1897 - 1898) of two peacocks caught my eye. I had seen it in an old book last year while doing an assignment. Even though the piece is just over 100 years old it the pristine condition amazed me. That said, you can only imagine how amazed I was at the near perfect condition of pieces dated BC!
There was so much to see! It was amazing to see so much jewellery, so well preserved and so diverse in its origin.
Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures in the museum but here is one I took on the way to the Museum.
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| Walking in Pforzheim |
Hannah
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