Elisabeth Treskow

Elisabeth Treskow (1898–1992) was a German goldsmith and jewellery designer, one of the earliest professional women in the field. After serving an apprenticeship under in Munich, in 1923 she worked with the bookbinder Frida Schoy in the artists' colony in the Margarethenhöhe district of Essen. Around 1930, she rediscovered the Etruscan art of granulation and went on to win several first prizes in Germany as well as a Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris World Fair. Her work is in the collections of museums in Germany and abroad, including London's Victoria & Albert Museum and Cologne's Museum für Angewandte Kunst.

Early life and education Born in Bochum on 20 August 1898, Elisabeth Treskow was the daughter of the pharmacist Max Treskow and his wife Hedwig. After attending the classes given by Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen, she successfully completed silversmith courses in Schwäbisch Gmünd (1917) and Munich (1918). After an apprenticeship under Karl Rothmüller of Munich, she qualified as a journeyman in 1918. In 1971, Treskow moved into an old people's home in Brühl where she continued to design items to be made by her students. In 1991, the Cologne Museum of Applied Art presented a retrospective exhibition of her work.

Elisabeth Treskow died in Brühl on 6 October 1992.