Accretion notes: George Jensen Silver

Georg Jensen
Back Ground
Georg Arthur Jensen was a Danish silversmith born August 31, 1866, Raadvad, Denmark – died October 2, 1935, Copenhagen, Denmark). .
Georg Jensen Life Timeline
1866 Born in Raadvad, Denmark
1880 began training in goldsmithing at the age of 14 in Copenhagen
1884 finished His apprenticeship, with the firm Guldsmed Andersen.
1892 graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts sculptor studium
1892 Jensen .
1892 exhibited his clay sculpture was well received and won a grant from the Danish Academy to travel in France and Italy ,but difficult to make a living as a fine artist.
1901 he abandoned ceramics and began again as a silversmith and designer with the master Mogens Ballin.
1904 opened his own little silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.
Jensen's training in metalsmithing along with his education in the fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. The beauty and fine quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the
public and his success was assured.

proved difficult and he turned his hand to the applied arts. First as a modeller at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory.

1906 initially producing modestly priced jewellery and later moving into holloware and flatware.

1908 Many designers contributed to the growing success of the company, particularly Johan Rohde in the early stages, 1908 the business employed nine silversmiths and two apprentices.

1909 The company had also begun to expand quite early on in its history, opening a branch in Berlin for the sale of Jensen products and Royal Copenhagen porcelain.

1914 the branch in Berlin closed

1916 The Company shares were sold in order to cater for increased production and the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie (Georg Jensen Silversmiths) was formed as a result, bolstered further by substantial capital investment in the company in the following year

1920s, before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail outlets as far ranging as New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin.

The early 1920s The company experienced serious difficulties in the economic slump but 1921 the position improved with the appointment of Frederik Lunning (see Lunning Prize) who opened a Georg Jensen Solvsmedie shop in London in 1921

1924 Frederik Lunning opened a Georg Jensen Solvsmedie shop in New York

in Amongst the key designers working for the firm were Harald Nielsen, the Swedish designer Count Sigvard Bernadotte, and Henry Pilstrup.

1925-6 Apart from a brief spell in Paris, Jensen himself held the post of artistic director for the firm, with others controlling the silversmith and retailing operations.

1925 Jensen won award at international exhibitions The Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels.
1929 Jensen won award at international the International Exposition in Barcelona

1935 Jensen won award at the Brussels World's Fair

1935 Georg Jensen died, in the preceding years he imbued the firm with his strongly held ideals concerning both artistry in design and excellence in craftmanship, this tradition has been adhered to throughout the twentieth century. Jensen was a proponent of the Art Nouveau style.He had the wisdom and foresigh to allow his designers their own freedom of expression which expanded the stylistic scope of what the firm produced and allowed it to keep step with time.

After the Second World War the company continued to flourish, attracting new talent

1954 Henning Koppel and Nanna Ditzel, both began working on commissions for the firm from 1954 onwards and, later, Allan Scharff and Jørgen Møller.

1972 onwards Georg Jensen Silversmiths underwent takeovers and mergers with a number of companies involved with jewellery, glass, and tableware, first by the Royal Porcelain Factory

1997 as part of a large group under the name of Royal Scandinavia Ltd. in 1997.

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How to Date George Jensen Silver

When to collect a important part it to known the time of manufacturing.

An easy way to date silver is by its hallmark. This was for many reasons a company would change its hallmark every few years during its production timeline. Reasons were to keep their marks from being reproduced and a simple methode to date their product.

In this article provided some George Jensen marks to help to date silver items. It also included some artist marks with the dates were used.

Step to identify silver piece of George Jensen

1. Look at the piece of George Jensen silver. A hallmark stamped somewhere on silver piece. Note, This mark is usually on the bottom of the piece. The mark can be found just about anywhere so if not able to find it on the bottom keep looking. Suggestion using a 10x jewelers loop to make it easier to find a silver hallmark.

2. Find the picture below that looks like the mark on your piece of silver.

3. The date range for the silver hallmarks is located just above the pictures.

List of George Jensen Silver Hallmarks

Mark 1(used in 1904-1908)