Adam's At Home Auction September 8th 2019

46 106 A SILVER BRACELET BY GEORG JENSEN, composed of a continuous row of marquise-shaped links with chain con- nections, numbered 106, with maker’s mark for ‘Georg Jensen, since 1945’, length approx. 18.3cm € 300 - 500 GEORG JENSEN Georg Jensen was born in Copenhagen in 1866. He began his training in goldsmithing at the tender age of just 14, although the young Jensen had always longed to be a sculptor. He had an opportunity to fulfil this dream when in 1884, after completing his apprenticeship, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. However, work as an artist proved unfruitful and after the death of his wife, even after trying his hand at modelling work at a local porcelain factory, Jensen was unable to support his two young sons. As a result, Jensen turned to silversmithing in 1901 and worked with the master, Mogens Ballin. In 1904, Jensen opened his own smithy in Copenhagen. His unique combination of skills and training inspired Jensen to create innovative pieces whose quality and beauty guaranteed the success that would become associated with the name Georg Jensen. Jensen’s style was exemplary of a continued burgeoning enthusiasm in Denmark for a Jap- anese manner of art, stemming from increased trade during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This style was decidedly un-classical, marked by an observation of nature and stylisation of motifs, both of which would lend themselves to the Art Nouveau style that Jensen was known for. By the end of the 1920s, Jensen had new stores in London, New York and Berlin. He left a legacy in design that would become internationally recognised and would guarantee his as a household name for over 100 years to come. ------ Some of the brooches at auction are the work of Arno Malinowski, a Danish sculptor who began working for Jensen in the 1930’s. Malinowski’s designs pay deep respect to Jensen’s Art Nouveau style, setting sinuous natural forms within geometric frames, and using coloured enamel to recall Jensen’s early twentieth century use stones. The silver bracelet was designed by Nanna Ditzel for Georg Jensen in the 1970’s. She was renowned for her avant-garde attitude, fast becoming a leading figure in the regeneration of Danish design and the first woman to design for Jensen in 1954.