26 Silver Magazine july/auguSt 2010

Fig. 1. Georg Jensen tea & coffee set in the Blossom pattern. All photos are courtesy of Drucker Antiques, Mt. Kisco, NY.

Dining In Style- with -

Georg JensenFlatware

by Janet Drucker

One of Georg Jensen’s (1866-1935) earliest creations was the iconic Blossom teapot inspired by nature. As the story is told, in 1904 Georg Jensen wrapped the very first Blossom teapot in newspaper and brought it to the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen. The curator immediately purchased it. This event encouraged Jensen, who already experienced success with his sterling silver jewelry, to expand his business with hollowware and flatware for the table. The legacy of Georg Jensen silver spans over one hundred years.

When Georg Jensen opened his Copenhagen silver-smithy in 1904, he was thirty-five years old. He was recog-nized as a creator of innovative designs

in silver. Georg Jensen first produced jewelry in silver with cabochon stones and soon produced flatware with the

same artistic vision and superb quality of craftsmanship.

During the late nineteenth cen-tury, the importance of flatware superseded its function. Meaning, setting a beautiful table signified a refined upbringing, social status, and at times wealth. At the begin-

ning of the twentieth century, when Denmark was enjoying a surge in

economic growth, Jensen changed the earlier paradigm believing that flatware should be integrated into daily living and enjoyed by the masses, including the working class of Denmark.

Jensen silver is recognized for the attention to each design element and the proportion of each piece. The balance of each piece in the hand exudes its own personality. The iconic designs and hand finishing of Georg Jensen silver remains a hallmark of his work.

There were thirty-three individual flatware patterns designed—the first pattern, Continental, was designed in 1906, and the last pattern named Koppel came in 1981. Today only nine patterns are in current production. A five-piece setting is composed of a dinner fork, dinner knife, soup spoon, salad fork, and teaspoon. Serving pieces include items such as salad sets, pastry and cake serv-ers, and ladles while the accessory pieces such as place card holders, salt and pep-pers shakers, and napkin rings add the finishing touch to setting your table.

Johan Rohde, a painter and Georg Jensen’s first associate, designed the Acorn pattern in 1915. He introduced a new era of classicism with this new design. Acorn is possibly the world’s most extensive service. At one time, 228 different pieces were produced. Today the pattern is still available in the modest number of eighty pieces, which include place card holders, lemon knives, ice tongs, grape scissors, etc.

In 1919, Georg Jensen created the Blossom flatware pattern based on the delicate blossom bud of his iconic tea-pot. This design is the most intricate,

completely handmade and costly flat-ware pattern, aptly reflecting the spirit of Georg Jensen, the pioneer, the artist, the craftsman.

The Pyramid flatware pattern was designed by Harald Nielsen, a brother-in-law of Georg Jensen, in 1926. Pyramid is restrained art deco in style, with its geometric pyramid-shaped top. This design was inspired by the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1923. Nielsen took over as artistic director after Georg Jensen’s death. Pyramid flatware is still produced today.

In 1930, the Cactus pattern was designed by Gundorph Alburtus, who was a sculptor well-acquainted with silver. Cactus combines art deco style with Jensen’s earlier inspiration from nature. This pattern is sought after by arts and crafts collectors as well as lovers of modernism. Alburtus also designed the Bittersweet pattern in 1940. This pattern features a beautiful leaf motif at the tip of each handle. While the Cactus pattern remains in produc-tion, the Bittersweet pattern has been discontinued.

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Fig. 2. Georg Jensen flatware in the Blossom pattern.

Fig. 3. Georg Jensen flatware in the Cactus pattern.

28 Silver Magazine july/auguSt 2010

Sigvard Bernadotte designed the Bernadotte pattern in 1939. This pat-tern reflects the simplicity of a func-tionalist style. Bernadotte, the first non-Dane to design for the company, was the son of King Gustav VI of Sweden. The Bernadotte pattern is still produced today.

Georg Jensen silver is often passed from generation to genera-tion within a family. Children and adults alike remember setting the table with Jensen silver; placing the salt and pepper shakers, writing the name cards, and lighting the candle-sticks that adorn the table. The dining experience becomes a memo-rable occasion when set with Georg Jensen silver.

Additional information on Georg Jensen’s life and work, including illus-trations of all of the flatware patterns is available in Janet Drucker’s book, Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver, 2nd edition. Fig. 4. Georg Jensen pitcher designed by Johan Rohde in 1920 and produced in 1925.

Fig. 5. Pitcher No.407, grape motif with ebony handle, designed by Georg Jensen.

Janet Drucker is the founder of Drucker Antiques, a recognized authority of Georg Jensen silver jewelry, flatware and hollow-ware. Janet Drucker, M.A., for-merly an artist and art teacher, is the author of Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver. Drucker Antiques of Mt. Kisco, NY, is pleased to exhibit a spe-cial collection of Georg Jensen flatware sets, serving pieces, pitchers, bowls, and accesso-ries for the table while at the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show over the Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-5). Janet Drucker will also be presenting a lecture on Georg Jensen Silver during the show.