close

Reinhold Vasters

( 1827 - 1909 )

Vasters was born in Erkelenz, a few miles north of Aachen. His father was a locksmith. His father died when he was aged 8, and he was raised by his uncle. After attending school, he trained as a goldsmith in Krefeld, and developed his skills further in London, Paris and Vienna. He exhibited works at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and won a prize. He moved to Aachen, registering his mark in 1853. In Aachen, he worked with Heinrich Joseph Viethen making and repairing metal articles for the cathedral, and developed a reputation as a specialist in antique liturgical gold and silver. He married Anna Catharina Josepha Hammacher in 1855; she was the sister of painter Theodor Hammacher. They had three children, but she died shortly after giving birth to the third in 1859