The collection of Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim includes pieces that date back to the 3rd millennium BC. Back then, jewelry was still closely related to magical and mythical principles that influenced and shaped people’s lives.

The bases from which jewelry evolved over the course of the millennia as a phenomenon of immense aesthetic diversity include amulets and talismans, which were believed to ward off evil or to bring good luck. Jewelry also served to distinguish or honour a person, and it was used within the context of fertility or hunting magic. Natural products such as seeds, seed capsules or strangely shaped pieces of wood, as well as, later on, animal figurines crafted from clay or metal, were regarded as symbols of magical powers.

Early man had learned how to work metals. The golden pendant ear­ring found in the vicinity of Troy (Gold Pendant Earring) reveals remarkable skills and shows that, between 2400 and 2200 BC, people believed in these ancient notions related to fertility magic. The bronze bracelet (Bronze Bangle) created about 2700 years ago in the Persian high­lands, symbolizes ancient hunting magic: the stylized heads of a wild cat were supposed to confer the animal’s strength upon the hunter wearing the bracelet.

Around the same period, but far away from Persia and Italy, a gar­ment fastener was crafted in pre-Celtic Ireland from solid gold (Gold Clasp), which derives its magical power from the material alone. Composed of a sturdy bow and two “bowls,” it served to hold together parts of a person’s clothing.