Georg Arthur Jensen was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S. 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. First as a modeller at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory and, beginning in 1898, with a small pottery workshop he founded in partnership with Christian Petersen. Again the work was well received, but sales were not strong enough to support Jensen, by this point a widower, and his 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 silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen. Reference: Wikipedia
Georg Jensen. A Small Pill Box, circa 1910
of circular shape, with a single flower to the hinged cover 5cm diam, stamped marks (1909-14). Sold for £216 at Bonhams
This corkscrew was made by Georg Jensen between 1919 and 1927. It has the designers mark CFH. The handle also bears the English import marks for 1922-3 for the retailer G.S.
A DANISH SILVER CIGARETTE-BOX, DESIGNED BY GEORG JENSEN
MARK OF GEORG JENSEN, COPENHAGEN, 1925-32
Fluted rectangular, on double citron feet, the cover chased with oval berry and leaf cartouche, with wood liner, no. 58, marked under base
9 in. (22.8 cm.) long; 35 oz. 10 dwt. (1,104 gr.) gross weight.
Sold for USD 11,875 at Christies in 2014
Georg Jensen Silver Gilt Box
Model no. 83, Denmark, after 1945
Of rectangular form, with a hinged domed cover inset with three dyed green chalcedony stones, wood lined, on double ball feet. Height 2 1/4 inches, width 6 1/4 inches, depth 4 inches.
In good condition; no apparent digs or dents or evidence of monogram or monogram removal; there is extensive wear and absence of gilding to the body, notably, in the front on the right facing side and in the rear also on the right facing side; the embossed foliate decoration on the lid is pierced through and appears to be an unintended aspect in the manufacturing; there are two slight indentations along the right rear rim edge of the cover; the underside of the lid is not gilt; the interior of the body is wood lined; the underside is marked STERLING 83 DENMARK and GEORG JENSEN surrounded by impressed dots surmounted with a crown, and with another oval mark with incised dots marked 9255.
Sold for $3,750 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle New York in 2015
Pill box by GEORG JENSEN, approx. 1925/30s, Denmark, silver 925, egg shaped, h. approx. 2.5 cm.
Sold For: €320 at Henry’s Auktionshaus AG in 2018
Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen, Copenhagen
THE KRONBORG CASTLE BOX
rectangular, reeded sides, the lid engraved with a view of Kronborg Castle, the interior inscribed: ‘To Vivien Leigh / In appreciation of your performance as Ophelia / in the ‘Old Vic’ production of ‘Hamlet’/ at Kronborg Castle, Elsinore, June 1937, / Denmark’
Georg Jensen’s maker’s marks and designer’s signature, numbered: 712
silver
13.4cm., 5¼in. wide; 274.9gr.; 8oz. 16dwt.
active 1904-present
Made circa 1937.
Sold for 5,000 GBP at Sothebys in 2017
Georg Jensen 20th Century silver makers mark
In the 1950s and ’60s Scandinavian design, with its simplicity of form and natural materials, was influential all over the world in many media, from textiles to furniture. Jewellery was designed around organic shapes, often merging to become miniature sculptural elements. Finely crafted silver was the preferred material, often in combination with inexpensive gemstones in unconventional cuts and asymmetrical compositions.
Unlike other European companies, which preferred anonymity, the Scandinavian firms such as Georg Jensen in Denmark promoted their designers and encouraged them to make a name of their own, such as Henning Koppel. Reference: Victoria and Albert Museum
