Collecting Across a Century: Georg Jensen Silversmithy Works for a Contemporary Collector

For over a century, collectors, connoisseurs, and institutions have all recognized the brilliance produced by Georg Jensen and the designers at his Denmark firm. Despite the varied backgrounds, eras, and experiences that each craftsman brought to the silversmithing craft, Georg Jensen's silversmithy created a cohesive style that would define a Danish aesthetic and influence design globally in the 20^th century. This prolific firm affords the trained eye myriad opportunities to collect objects of beauty, function, and sophistication; many of these important and beautiful objects are available in the upcoming Design for Living: A Private Collection of Georg Jensen Silver.  

Works within the collection range from those on an intimate scale to masterworks of institutional quality, covering over a century of design tradition in scope. Designed in 1912 and originally untitled and merely referenced by “pattern 19”, the silver centerpiece bowl (lot 12) would become the eponymous Louvre Bowl when the Museé des Arts Decoratifs at the Louvre in Paris acquired the work in 1914. Not even in his second decade of silversmithing, Jensen’s larger-scale works would continue to earn acclaim and be sought after by collectors worldwide for the remainder of the 20^th century and well into the 21^st.

Georg Jensen first found commercial success in the early 20^th century by producing silver jewelry. Some of the earliest works to achieve commercial and critical success were his small-scale works such as bracelets, brooches, and other wearable objects. Steeped in the Danish aesthetic of skønvirke or “Beautiful Work,” these small objects present a resounding overture to the following century of the firm’s work. Inset with gems, glass, and cabochons, the commercial success of these items would allow Jensen’s firm to explore larger-scale silver objects.

Lot 17 | A Georg Jensen Silver and Hardstone Mounted Box | Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Lot 17, with a Danish assay mark dating the object to 1920 and standing as one of the earliest examples in the sale, shows the firm’s gradual departure from wearable objects to full-scale hollowware. A simple object in form, the table casket carries the tradition of Jensen’s jewelry works with a carved hardstone finial surmounting the box. The rounded body is further raised on feet in the form of a flower blossom. The hammered surface, an aesthetic that runs through nearly all of Georg Jensen’s personally designed works, is a distinct nod to the importance of the craftsman’s “hand” in creating works of beauty [1].  To a connoisseur, owning these early, transitional items can provide critical bridges to the remainder of their collection of large-scale Jensen objects as we see throughout the sale.

Lot 23 | A Pair of Georg Jensen Designed Silver Five-Light Candelabra | Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000

Lot 23, a pair of five light candelabra, widely considered to be Georg Jensen’s last design before his death in 1935 shows that Jensen’s commercial success in the 20^th century and changing aesthetics of the 1920s and 30s did not fundamentally change Jensen’s vision of the ability of silver to have a “character of its own”. These candelabra express the hand of the craftsman and maintain a design that is distinctly and recognizably Jensen. The central stem forms blossom motifs, each with two arms sprouting from the blossom. The organic structure refused to be relegated by the Art Deco sensibilities of the era. The hammered surface continues to represent Jensen's hand. The “Calm and monumental clarity” [2] expressed through these candelabra create an unmistakably “Jensen” form that collectors will be able to recognize from across a room, let alone from across a dining table.

One of the most rewarding aspects of collecting Jensen silver is tied to being able to collect forms from the famous designers who worked alongside Jensen: Johan Rohde, Harald Nielsen, Sigvard Bernadotte and Hennig Koppel. Their varied backgrounds and aesthetics allow for a discerning collector to supplement Jensen’s craft and designs with beautiful objects that uplift the Jensen aesthetic in exciting and novel ways.

Originally trained as a painter, Johan Rohde was 10 years Jensen’s senior. Trained as a painter and familiar with Jensen’s work as a sculptor with Bing & Grondahl in the late 19^th century. Rohde first approached Jensen in 1906 as a customer, asking Jensen to craft a coffeepot, creamer, and sugar that he designed [3]. Jensen, more concerned about maintaining the highest standards of silver craftsmanship than his own ego, did not shy away from surrounding himself with skilled designers. Lot 29 within the sale shows the varied forms that Jensen’s team of designers could bring while still holding true to the larger thematic qualities that a collector would desire in the firm’s oeuvre. Still maintaining the critical hammered finish, the centerpiece bowl stands atop an almost cosmic sphere. Departing from Jensen’s organic structures, Rohde still reflects the core tenets of the firm. Works like this allow a connoisseur the ability to collect objects that create a rhyming poetry of various forms while still maintaining a composed aesthetic that unite the entire collection.  

By employing and empowering a talented cadre of designers, Georg Jensen produced works both great and small while maintaining a core set of beliefs imbued with discerning taste. For seasoned and beginner collectors alike, this superlative collection is an opportunity to acquire works that speak to one’s own taste and, at the same time, remain indelibly Jensen.

Works Cited:

1. Thulstrup, Thomas C., Georg Jensen: Silver and Design. Gads Forlag.  Copenhagen, Denmark.  Pp. 27.
2. Georg Jensen & Wendel, Georg Jensen Silver. Georg Jensen & Wendel. Copenhagen, Denmark. 1935. 7.
3. Thulstrup, Thomas C., id. Pp, 54.