HOW TO BUY GEORG JENSEN ON s

For the collector of Georg Jensen (1866-1935) of Copenhagen, Denmark, okay represents a wonderful resource pool. Georg Jensen was a metal designer who worked primarily in sterling silver, but also in gold and other metals. He designed flatware, holloware, jewelry, and many unique specialty items since 1904. His organic designs are executed with the highest degree of skill and craftsmanship and he became an instant sensation. Though he came from a humble blue collar home, his creative gifts were evident early. He studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and had already achieved reconized brilliance by the time he graduation at age 25. But this was followed by a very dark period where he was unable to obtain work and his wife died suddenly, leaving him with two small sons. Through the friendship of artist Johan Rohde, Jensen was able to assert himself into the burgeoning art nouveau movement and began exhibiting and winning prizes, including the 1900 Danish Pavilion Exhibition at the Worlds Fair in Paris. The Danish Government gave him a two-year travel/study grant and this was critical to formulating Jensens artcraft to follow because he noticed the disconnect between gallery art and retail objects. He decided to make retail objects that were worthy art objects, beginning first in jewelry because the investment was small, and the unique Jensen style was born. It is a style that has been copied by other makers, and continues even after his death to spawn innovations in design. But it is the early Jensen work that collectors seek. Jensen married again in 1907, and her large extended family became an integral part of Jensens burgeoning business. Sadly, his second wife, Joanne, died a victim of the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918. The period of the "Johanne" years was considered Jensens most fruitful and happiest. By the 1920's Jensen had opened high-end retail stores in Copenhagen, London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Buenos Aires.
Jensens style is recognizable an important and necessary attribute to creating followers. It featured natural forms - flowers, animals, often highly stylized, in solid sterling and sometimes incorporating semiprecious stones. He weathered the storms of the Great Depression with the help of entrepreneur Frederik Lunning, who marketed Jensens work to well-heeled customers in New York. During this time, Jensen was able to upgrade the silver used in his pieces from the lower grade 825 to 925. However, World War II affected exports and Jensen was forced to work only in stainless steel until the wars end. (It is an important period for collectors to note that Lunning acquired rights to Royal Copenhagen, Jensens parent gepany, and produced pieces hallmarked "Jensen USA." Though collectable in their own right especially those pieces designed by LaPaglia Jensen took Lunning to court and the resulting legal battle caused LaPaglia to leave Lunnings firm. (I understand a book will soon be released that focuses on this "Mystery" metalsmith, so collectors may see an opportunity there.)
Georg Jensens work was always hallmarked and his hallmarks do follow a timeline, which also delights and helps collectors. The mark most collectors are familiar with is the dotted oval mark used from 1945 to present (shown above).There is an excellent online reference page on Georg Jensens marks contained in the Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks and Makers Marks. This page also includes marks for the many designers, including Johan Rohde, who collaborated on his designs.