Georg Jensen - Anotated
The following lots by Georg Jensen are to feature in the Silver Auction on 29th November….
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1. Lot 210 A 1920's Danish silver pill box of circular hinged form. Marked Georg Jensen, also with the assay masters mark C.F. Heise, Copenhagen. Hallmarked London import Stockwell & Co 1922. 2. Lot 206 A Danish silver Acorn Pattern fork made by Georg Jensen. Hallmarked London import London 1975. 3. Lot 228 A composite set of six Danish silver coasters by Georg Jensen. Four are marked with a GJ within a square, 1933-1944, and two are marked Georg Jensen & Wendel, 1945-1951. 4. Lot 229 A small Danish silver bowl made by Georg Jensen, post 1945, together with a 1920's Georg Jensen silver fork, hallmarked Copenhagen 1926 with the assay master Christian F. Heise. 5. Lot 231 A Georg Jensen silver Cactus pattern Christening mug, post 1945, with the designer mark for Gundorph Albertus (1887-1970). Marked to the underside Denmark Sterling 777 A. 6. Lot 232 A Georg Jensen silver pill box, post 1945, of curved rectangular form. Marked to the underside Sterling Denmark 33 B. |
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…and the lots displayed here are in the upcoming Costume & Silver Jewellery & Novelties Auction.
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1. Lot 755 A 1970s circular silver pendant with split section at top and base.
2. Lot 756 A silver 'Splash' pendant. 3. Lot 757 A silver brooch of 'calla lily' form set with a single black bead to the centre. 4. Lot 758 A silver and iron triangular brooch with silver leaf design against the iron background. 5. Lot 759 A silver bar brooch with a central dove perched 6. Lot 760 A silver bar brooch with central pine cone motif flanked |
8. Lot 762 A silver Modernist wedge shaped linked necklet with torpedo shaped clasp. |
Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grinder in the town of Raadvad just to the north of Copenhagen. Jensen began his training in goldsmithing at the age of 14 in Copenhagen. His apprenticeship with the firm Guldsmed Andersen, ended in 1884 and this freed young Georg to follow his artistic interests.
From childhood, Jensen had longed to be a sculptor and he now pursued this course of study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1892 and began exhibiting his work. Although his clay sculpture was well received, making a living as a fine artist proved difficult and he turned his hand to the applied arts. Again the work was well received, but sales were not strong enough to support Jensen, by this point a widower, with two small sons.
In 1901, he abandoned ceramics and began again as a silversmith and designer with the master, Mogens Ballin. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little silversmiths at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.
Jensen's training in metalsmithing along with his education in the fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. Soon, the beauty and fine quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. The Copenhagen quarters were greatly expanded and before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail outlets as far ranging as New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin.
Georg Jensen died in 1935, but in the preceding years he imbued the firm with his strongly held ideals concerning both artistry in design and excellence in craftsmanship. This tradition has been adhered to throughout the twentieth century.