Georg Jensen (1866-1935) was a Danish silversmith. He began his training as a goldsmith at the age of 14 in Copenhagen.
Jensen had always wanted to be a sculptor, which is what he studied at the Royal Academy. He graduated in 1892 and he then began to exhibit his work. He found making a living out of sculpture extremely difficult, so he moved towards the applied arts and ceramics. In 1901, he began again working as a silversmith and in 1904 opened his own silversmithy in Copenhagen. Georg Jensens Art Noveau designs became very popular and well received and his outlet in Copenhagen expanded rapidly and by the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened outlets in New York, London, Berlin, Paris and Stockholm.
Georg Jensen died in 1935 and although he was a great fan of the Art Nouveau style, he had also allowed his designers a great deal of freedom of expression, which helped his company keep up with the times and progress in the future.
Georg Jensen Pendant (FS18/212)
Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood sold a lovely piece of Georg Jensen in the quarterly fine jewellery auction in April 2013 in our Exeter salerooms in Devon (FS18/212) - illustrated above. It was a silver oval pendant, of foliate design suspending a long drop. The piece was stamped Georg Jensen 925S Denmark 40 and had import marks for London 1976. This stylish pendant sold for £680 when it went under the hammer in the fine jewellery auction.
