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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   The Antique Detective   The Antique Detective Georg Jensen silver in demand   By Anne Gilbert Almost 100 years after it was first introduced by Danish silversmith, Georg Jensen, his many silver designs continue to attract new generations. Much of the appeal can be attributed not only to the sculptural styling and clean lines of his work but the talents of the other designers working under him.   His approach to design was best expressed in a sign hanging in his Copenhagen Studio a century ago which stated "Do not follow fashion, but be guided by the present if you want to stay young in the struggle.”   At the time Denmark was enjoying an economic boom and more Danes had the opportunity to acquire luxury goods than ever before. The emerging middle class sought to celebrate the "new century" with a more ""modern"" style but to do it with the flair of the upper classes. That meant buying sterling flatware for their dining tables in dozens of different types and specific serving pieces designed for various types of food.   Georg Arthur Jensen (1866-1935) came along at the right time. He began as an apprenticed goldsmith and by 1884 was a journeyman.   Trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy of Art, Jensen met Joachim Petersen, a designer of metalwork and ceramics and joined him in designing and making sculptural ceramics. However, Jensen became more interested in designing and working in silver; especially jewelry pieces. It was his training as a sculptor that influenced his work with silver.   Shortly after opening his small silver studio in Copenhagen in 1904, Danish socialites began buying his unique, handcrafted designs. He had decided to create distinctly contemporary pieces, ignoring the current popularity of Art Nouveau designs. Jewelry and pieces of silver were based on natural forms and motifs that included berries, leaves and fruit in a sculptural form. He also created a lightly hammered surface (matte finish) of his own design that reflected light in a different way than the usual highly polished pieces of the time. Before long his work caught the attention of collectors in Europe and abroad. By the 1920s the firm had won virtually every Grand Prix. Stores began to open in many world capitals displaying Jensen flatware, holloware and jewelry.   Always aware of current design influences he created his own versions of Art Deco in the 1920s, and in the post-war decades, streamline modernism.   "Today, Jensen is often called the "Father" of Scandinavian silver" and recognized for having encouraged dozens of other talented designers to create original designs for his smithy,” said Michael James, co-founder, with Alastair Crawford of The Silver Fund, specializing in Georg Jensen silver. "Jensen also gave them full credit.” As a result, collectors have come to know many of these artisans by name and style of their work.   In the 1920s, Jensen employed as many as 300 craftsmen, among them women. This was recognized when in 1979 the Smithsonian Institution held an exhibition of Jensen silver titled: 75 years and 77 artists.   These days, a piece signed by or attributed to such names as Johan Rohde, Herald Neillsen, Sigvard Bernadotte and Henning Koppel can sell for thousands of dollars. Even so, vintage Jensen pieces made from 1904 to 1935 can be surprisingly affordable. It is possible to pay $100 for a piece of flatware; brooches and pins for $200 and many serving pieces are in the $500 - $1,000 range. However, the rare centerpiece bowls, candelabras and tea services can cost five or six figures. That is in keeping with Jensen’s concept of creating silver jewelry anyone could afford. He purposely chose what was considered a modest metal, silver, and semi-precious stones such as amber, citrine, lapis and moonstones.   "Most fascinating to collectors and most interesting are the rare and sometimes one of a kind, hollowware pieces that were created on commission or as presentation pieces for celebrities, royalty or state officials,” James notes. Hollowware created by Jensen himself is easy to recognize. It elevated the status of what had been considered a craft to a new and distinctive art form with spare, sensuous forms drawn from nature. For collectors, it offers the careful balance between form and ornament. A good example is the "Blossom" tea service Jensen created in 1904. Clusters of grapes are Jensen's signature, as readily associated with the Danish silver smithy as the elegantly spare pitcher his colleague Johan Rohde (1856-1935) designed in 1920. Later, Henning Koppel’s "Pregnant Goose,” pitcher set the tone for the postwar silver created in the Jensen workrooms.   Today, Koppel is one of the best known and sought after of the Jensen silver designers. In the 1940s, he brought a new look to Jensen hollowware. The biomorphic forms of his pitchers, platters and wine jugs can be recognized without even seeing his signature, by their fluid lines. They are referred to as biomorphic (undulating, and amoeba) sculptural. Equally collectible are the Koppel 1960s and '70s pieces with their post-modern look. And, there is also the jewelry; his first designs for Jensen in 1945. Many of his brooches were abstract designs set with blue/black enamels.   Also highly collectible are pieces done by one of Jensen’s sons, Soren Georg Jensen (b.1917 ). He apprenticed at the Jensen silver smithy and completed his training in 1936. He continued working for his father and in 1946 he was awarded the Danis gold medal for his work. His designs express a sleek, strong and sculptural quality that today's collectors look for.   Harald Nielsen (1892-1977) was another of Jensen’s closest colleagues. In 1931, he created a covered fish platter that is one of the most in demand. His stylized dolphins and pared-down functionalist style made him a favourite designer in the 1930s. A favourite pattern, the "Bernadotte" flatware, was designed in 1939 by Sigvard Bernadotte, (1907-2002), a son of the King of Sweden. It was after attending the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 that he decided to become a designer of silver. He sought out Georg Jensen and spent the next 15 years designing 150 pieces of hollowware, as well as presentation pieces, for Jensen.   Despite his royal lineage, Bernadotte followed the Jensen philosophy. In a new book, Georg Jensen Hollowware: The Silver Fund Collection, at an interview just prior to his death, Bernadotte expressed pleasure in knowing that his designs are still considered distinguished and are recognized as his, despite the dozens of other designers that worked in the Jensen smithy since the 1930s.   "Some of the Jensen designs were considered to be so ahead of their time that they were not put into production until years after they were created,” according to Alastair Crawford. An example is Rohde’s ionic silver pitcher. Not put into production, today it can be seen in the collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.   Over the years, many of the 33 original Jensen patterns that have been reproduced. Twenty-three are no longer made, The best known still in production are Acanthus, Acorn, Beaded, Bernadotte, Blossom, Cactus, Old Danish,Continental, Pyramid and Rose (Lily of the Valley).   Always an important factor in any collecting category is faking. "I’m often asked if there is any faking going on with Jensen and have to answer yes,” said Crawford. "While this can be a problem for dealers and collectors who think they have found a bargain, The Silver Fund specialists can assure their clients that only authentic pieces pass from our hands to theirs. There are some companies who take impressions of Jensen marks and apply them to other silver. However, those marks end up being reversed. This ends up in hollowware and jewelry.”   Just how popular is Georg Jensen silver? So popular that when 20th century silver specialists James and Crawford decided five years ago to open a gallery specializing in Jensen silver, they had no idea they would also have a gallery in the U.S., much less on Madison Avenue in New York . . . or that as the largest dealers in the world o Georg Jensen silver, a book would be written about their collection.   Jensen would probably be pleased since many of the affordable pieces can allow a collector to start collecting or just enjoy the designs.   For reference: Georg Jensen Holloware: The Silver Fund Collection. It contains 500 illustrations of Jensen designs.   Photos: 1 - Clock designed by Johan Rohde (1856-1935) for Georg Jensen 2 - Fish vase was designed by Rodge in 1915 3 - Candelabra designed by son Soran Georg Jensen   Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating her column "The Antique Detective" and special art and antique features since 1983. She has authored nine books on the subject. "The Antique Detective" appears in the Chicago Sun Times, Palm Beach Post, Patriot Ledger and many other newspapers. Over the years, she has appeared on network television and has also been an appraiser for major museums and private individuals.       Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2009 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster