Tag Archive for: georg jensen

Georg Jensen dominates Jasper52 May 30 silver auction

Few names loom as large in the realm of silver as Danish designer and entrepreneur Georg Jensen. He was innovative in both silversmithing and marketing, and possessed reserves of generosity–a rare resource among high achievers–that freed him to invite other artists and artisans to create pieces and lines for him under their own names. Those strategies helped his company survive to the present when virtually every other silver firm went defunct. On May 30, beginning at 5 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will present an auction of Silver Cutlery, Hollowware & Gifts, characterized by extremely strong pieces by Jensen.

Large and early Georg Jensen silver fish platter and mazarine, estimated at $23,000-$28,000

View the auction here.

Learn more about the auction on Auction Central News.

Sterling silver featured in Jasper52 auction Feb. 4

A Jasper52 online auction on Tuesday, Feb. 4, will set the table with time-honored 18th- to 21st-century silver pieces. From Gorham to Georg Jensen, Reed & Barton and more, this collection features renowned names in the art of silversmithing. As the most versatile of precious metals, silver stands as both the backdrop and center stage of a tastefully decorated home.

Reed & Barton Francis I sterling flatware service for 12, 161 pieces in excellent unpolished vintage condition. Estimate: $8,000-$10,000. Jasper52 image

View the auction here.

Learn more about the auction on Auction Central News.

A Luxury Tour of Antique Silver

From Spratling to Georg Jensen, this collection of antique and vintage silver features renowned names in silver-making and highlights skill and artistry. With these pieces from the 18th through to the 20th century, you can discover an alluring assortment of silver that is sure to strike your fancy. Take a look at a few shining pieces from this collection.

Expected to lead the charge is the solid silver wine/champagne cooler and ice bowl set made by Tetard Freres. Both the cooler and the bowl have a narrow paneled design and feature a chased band around the top rim and foot with an applied acanthus leaf design. This set, made in 1927, is of partly good quality and substantial weight. Having a long history of exceptional silversmithing that merited gold medals at world expositions, the Tetard brothers of Paris, under the design leadership of Valery Bizouard, were a leading manufacturer of French Art Deco silver.

Tetard Freres sterling silver wine cooler and ice bowl set, 1927, 92.2 troy ounces. Estimate: $6,500-$7,500. Jasper52 image

 

With a traditional lasting over 100 years, Georg Jensen exemplifies quality craftsmanship. Since the company’s founding in Copenhagen in 1904, it has embraced the Art Nouveau style and produced pieces that continue to resonate with design-conscious customers. Exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, Georg Jensen markings promise beauty and functionality. The Acorn salad spoon and fork by George Jensen offered in this collection have a $600-$700 estimate.

Georg Jensen sterling silver large salad spoon and fork, Acorn pattern, Denmark, Post 1945, 8 7/8in long, 217 grams. Estimate: $600-$700. Jasper52 image

 

The 28-piece sterling silver flatware set in the Masterpiece pattern by International is a fine set to build upon. It consists of four-piece place settings for six in addition to a gravy ladle, serving spoon, cold meat fork and sugar spoon. The set comes with a new storage chest. The Masterpiece pattern was designed by Alfred G. Kintz and introduced in 1983. The international Silver Co. was formed in 1898 by various independent New England silversmiths. The company grew to become the world’s largest manufacturer of silverware.

Masterpiece by International sterling silver flatware set, 28 pieces, setting for six. Estimate: $1,500-$1,700. Jasper52 image

 

In the category of objects of vertu are two sterling silver seated musicians with bobble heads made by Ludwig Neresheimer in Hanau, Germany in the late 19th century. The drummer was imported to the UK by Edwin Thompson Bryant in 1904, and as such carries the corresponding English silver hallmarks. The trumpet player was imported to the UK by Berthold Mueller at the turn of the 20th century. Berthold Mueller was an import firm that distributed a great deal of Neresheimer silver. The pair has a $4,500-$5,000 estimate.

Two novelty sterling silver musicians with bobble heads, made by Ludwig Neresheimer in Hanau, Germany, late 19th century. Estimate: $4,500-$5,000. Jasper52 image

 

To best display such fine curios is a sterling silver mirrored plateau. While the ring is stamped sterling silver, the maker’s mark is unclear. This circa 1920s piece carries a $250-$280 estimate.

Sterling silver mirror plateau, 10 1/2in in diameter, circa 1920s. Estimate: $250-$280. Jasper52 image

 

British born entrepreneur Fred Harvey (1835-1901) signed a contract in 1878 with the Santa Fe Railway to operate small restaurants at railroad depots along the railroad’s route. As a result he created the market and a place to sell jewelry, some of which was crafted by Native Americans, to travelers. Native American jewelry aficionados use his name to describe a particular type of Native American-style tourist jewelry that continued to be popular even after his death in 1901. The large Fred Harvey-era sterling silver belt buckle in this collection is highlighted by an oval piece of Bruneau jasper from Idaho and features a concentric orb pattern. At each corner of the silver buckle is a thunderbird.

Fred Harvey-era sterling silver thunderbird Bruneau jasper belt buckle, 2 3/8in x 3 1/2in. Estimate: $1,100-$1,250. Jasper52 image

 

The auction for this collection ends on Sunday, June 25th at 5pm ET. Take a look at the full catalog and favorite the items you love.

Georg Jensen: Godfather of Danish Modern Silver

In the realm of silversmithing, the name Georg Jensen is the epitome of the craft. Longtime collectors seek out Art Nouveau-influenced Jensen hollowware – the large tableware that is both highly decorative and functional. Younger consumers, on the other hand, tend to favor the modernist flatware and jewelry – the more-affordable pieces that still reflect the uncompromising quality long associated with the Jensen marque.

“It’s like the names Tiffany and Cartier,” said Michael Millea, co-owner of Millea Bros. Ltd., the Madison, N.J.-based auction house. “Jensen is the kind of thing that is always popular.”

Georg Jensen Sterling Silver “Melon” Bowl, designed in 1911 by Georg Jensen. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Jasper52 image

 

The Georg Jensen name takes in more than just the creations of the artist himself. More than 90 craftsmen worked for the firm during the founder’s lifetime and beyond, covering some 95 years of production and an evolution of styles. Born in 1866 in Dyrehaven, Denmark, Jensen was trained as a goldsmith, sculptor and ceramicist.

His best-selling products in the early years, however, were silver rings, brooches, bracelets and hat pins, adorned with amber, malachite, moonstones and opals. They weren’t costly to make or purchase, and they appealed to middle-class shoppers. Jensen’s style reflected themes from nature, in tune with the Arts & Crafts movement in England and Art Nouveau in France. The pieces were all carefully, lovingly handmade, as if each were a work of art unto itself, as opposed to the machine-stamped, mass-produced lines of the Industrial Revolution.

Pyramid pattern flatware set, service of 12, designed by Georg Jensen. Sold for $1,800. Jasper52 image

 

The Jensen craftsmanship was then carried over to the production of flatware and hollowware. His teapot with a floral motif called Magnolia was expanded into a full tea or coffee service. His work in utilitarian pieces blossomed into bowls, boxes, pitchers, candelabra, chandeliers, clocks, dishes and trays.

Finding and being able to acquire those large pieces from the Jensen workshops has become increasingly difficult, according to Millea.

This sterling silver cake service, with stylized bud handle, was designed by Georg Jensen in 1945. Courtesy of Brunk Auctions

 

Robin Rice, silver specialist at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C., said Jensen hollowware is still appearing on the market, often coming from the shelves of collectors who are downsizing. They tend to end up in the hands of
 other advanced collectors, though.

Younger customers tend to pay more attention to Jensen jewelry, such as brooches, cufflinks and tie clips, or to the flatware, said Michael Millea. His design-conscious peers are often more interested in the “clean-lined” designs. “The Pyramid-patterned flatware and the fluted patterns appeal to the modernist aesthetic that is so popular now.”

 

Georg Jensen Sterling Silver Large Meat Platter or Serving Tray No. 290B, Circa: 1930’s. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Jasper52 image

 

Rice said the most desirable, larger pieces are the trays, pitchers and bowls. Flatware designed by Georg Jensen himself, particularly in the Grapevine and Blossom patterns, are also highly sought after and remain among the more affordable Jensen products. While the Jensen artists intended their work to be beautiful objects that could and should be used, collectors of the hollowware and flatware don’t always concur. “Whether it’s Jensen or English silver or something else, there are certain collectors who like to surround themselves with antiques and feel that using them is part of owning them, and that they should be used,” Millea has found. “And there are certain people who feel just the opposite – that they should be looked at and admired but not used. That’s true in most collecting categories, whether it’s Jensen or other antiques.”

A 1945 sterling beaker by Georg Jensen. Courtesy of Brunk Auctions

 

Jensen Jewelry

Interest in jewelry produced by the Jensen workshops is stronger than ever, according to Gloria Lieberman, director of Fine Jewelry at the Boston headquarters of auction and appraisal company Skinner Inc.

Jensen sterling silver and green onyx necklace. Courtesy of Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers

 

“I think the popularity is growing because there is a larger population looking at Jensen (through) the Internet,” Lieberman explained. And because Jensen pieces are easily identified by their name and number, the Internet is a reliable marketplace, she said. Web searchers are purchasing Jensen’s modernist styles, many of which were not as popular a mere 10 years ago. And the hottest trend in Jensen jewelry is the gold line. The name Jensen is primarily associated with silver, but at age 14 Georg Jensen apprenticed with a goldsmith in Copenhagen. So gold actually goes back to the designer’s roots, as well.

“It has been around for a while,” Lieberman said, “but nobody cared about it years ago…not until the last year or two.”

 

Georg Jensen Silver Moonstone Bracelet, made by Georg Jensen in Denmark circa 1926. Estimate: $3,500-$5,000. Jasper52 image

 

Collectors still chase after the larger silver pieces as well. “The bigger and drippier, the better,” Lieberman said. “But those pieces were not in large production, so they fetch a high price.” Past sales at Skinner have seen the sale of a large brooch and early necklace, each reaching the $10,000 range. “It is, of course, about rarity,” Lieberman added.
 Jensen’s jewelry was not always so dear in price. “He was part of the Art Nouveau movement, and that was not about using precious stones and precious materials. It was about handcrafted floral designs. It was about silver, and the look of jewelry forged by hand.” In Jensen pieces, the hammered work and markings are plainly visible, and the stones were not the principal concern.

“But customers loved his combination of amber and green stones. Collectors love the moonstones still.”

 


By Alan Jaffe

Adapted from original article appearing in Auction Central News

Fine Jewelry Auction Sets Stage for Premier Designers’ Gems

David Yurman, Georg Jensen, William Spratling, Cartier and Tiffany are a few of the famous names represented in this weekend’s upcoming fine jewelry auction.

Sparkling with fine creations by illustrious designers, this collection offers a kaleidoscope of exquisite pieces, including vintage and estate jewelry. Trends evolve, but diamonds, silver and gold never go out of style. Here are a few of our favorite things… from this collection:

Diamond and sapphire earrings, 1.5 ctw. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000

Diamond and sapphire earrings, 1.5 ctw. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000

Topping the list is a pair of diamond and sapphire earrings in 18K white and yellow gold. The diamonds in these flower-shape earrings have a total carat weight of approximately 1.5 to 2.0 carats (est. $6,000-$8,000).

Seven pieces designed by sculptor David Yurman are entered in the auction, including an 18K gold X crossover diamond ring. The size 7 ring features Yurman’s signature cable detail and pave diamonds (0.04 ctw).

David Yurman 18K gold X crossover diamond ring. Estimate: $900-$1,000. Jasper52 image

David Yurman 18K gold X crossover diamond ring. Estimate: $900-$1,000

A classic example of Mexican silver is a 1930s River of Life cuff bracelet designed by William Spratling, which is estimated at $1,750-$2,000.

 

William Spratling ‘River of Life’ cuff bracelet, 980 silver. Estimate: $1,750-$2,000. Jasper52 image

William Spratling ‘River of Life’ cuff bracelet, 980 silver. Estimate: $1,750-$2,000

Two postwar Georg Jensen lots will be sold: a 1 1/2-inch sterling silver No. 20 brooch and a pair of sterling silver No. 66 “Bird” earrings by Kristian Mohl-Hansen.

 

Georg Jensen sterling silver ‘Bird’ earrings by Kristian Mohl-Hansen, with screw back clasps, 1-inch diameter. Estimate: $500-$600. Jasper52 image

Georg Jensen sterling silver ‘Bird’ earrings by Kristian Mohl-Hansen, with screw-back clasps, 1-inch diameter. Estimate: $500-$600

This 18K white gold and diamond “C” heart ring by Cartier has an estimated value of $4,500-$6,000.

 

Cartier 18K white gold diamond ‘C’ heart ring, sized 5.25. Estimate: $4,500-$6,000.

Cartier 18K white gold diamond ‘C’ heart ring, size 5.25. Estimate: $4,500-$6,000.

Just “a little something” from Tiffany’s, the pair of 14K yellow gold full links shown below carry a $200-$300 estimate.

Tiffany & Co 14K yellow gold cuff links, 11.3 grams. Estimate: $200-$300. Jasper52 image

Tiffany & Co 14K yellow gold cuff links, 11.3 grams. Estimate: $200-$300

Also within this unique assortment of more than 100 lots are a Victorian gold conch brooch and a Navajo green turquoise necklace. And the best part? All bidding start at just $1.