21st Silver Triennial International 2025 – Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Germany

Since 1965, the Society for Goldsmithing and the German Goldsmiths’ House in Hanau have organized the International Silver Triennial to promote contemporary silversmithing. The competition encourages new design ideas for silverware and objects. Through presentations both at home and abroad, the Silver Triennial has become a globally recognized exhibition series.

The exhibition of the 21st International Silver Triennial 2025 showcases unusual silver objects whose design and production demonstrate both artisanal precision and artistic refinement. The works on display offer a stimulating tension between everyday objects and artistic works. Thus, superbly designed equipment sits alongside surprising, intriguing objects that vividly illustrate the diversity of silver applications. What they all have in common is the deliberate confluence of form, surface design, and intention, resulting in objects with strong character and high quality. Both renowned designers and emerging artists submitted their works to the main competition and the Young Talents Competition. The expert jury included Beate Leonards, a silversmith from Lübeck; Wim Nys, curator at the DIVA Museum Antwerp; and Karen Pontoppidan, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. They awarded eight prizes totaling €20,000. In total, there were 137 applications with 195 works from 21 countries, of which 59 applications with 67 works from 15 countries were accepted: With these figures, the 21st Silver Triennial International 2025 demonstrates the continued attractiveness of the competition.

The bilingual catalog (German/English) from Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart, features an accompanying text, the award-winning works, and all submissions selected for the exhibition. It is available for purchase at the Goldschmiedehaus for €25.

The exhibition, publication and award ceremony are made possible through the kind support of Mannheimer Versicherung, Robbe & Berking, the Lions Club Hanau, the Ebbe Weiss-Weingart estate, Mrs. Rank and the city of Hanau.