Georg Jensen by J. Rohde Sterling Silver Bowl #17A

About the Item

Georg Jensen sterling silver bowl, designed by Johan Rohde, in pattern number 17A, beautifully hand hammered, showcasing stylized natural motifs, and standing on a stepped circular base. It measures 4 1/4'' in diameter by 4 1/8'' in height, weighs 6 troy ounces, and bears hallmarks as shown. Danish silversmith Georg Jensen (1866-1935) set up his own silver business in 1904 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. Soon, the beauty and quality of his creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. In 1912, expansion of his studio began in earnest. By 1917, he had built a workshop brimming with hundreds of employees. Jensen was awarded the Grand Prix at the world exhibition in Paris in 1925 and again in Barcelona in 1929. The sale of Jensen silver went really well and in the early 1930s there were Jensen shops in Paris, London, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Barcelona, Stockholm, St. Thomas, Buenos Aires and New York apart from the ones in Denmark. By his death in 1935, Georg Jensen was an international house of design where inspired artisans carried on a tradition of blending expert craftsmanship with forward-thinking design. In his obituary the New York Herald Tribune called him “the greatest silversmith of the last 300 years.” Johan Rohde hailed from a wealthy family and studied medicine prior to enrolling in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1882. A forward-thinking, anti-establishment artist, he left after less than a year, disillusioned by their refusal to accept modern trends. Rohde possessed a tireless creative mind and, in addition to painting and drawing, was also a lithographer, graphic artist, bookbinder, and designer. He embraced the Scandinavian design movement which, similar to the Arts & Crafts movement in America, encouraged the application of artistic sensibility to everyday objects. Rohde designed furniture and silverware for his own home, which led him to commission Georg Jensen to execute one of his hollowware designs. The collaboration was so successful that they continued working together, with Rohde designing and Jensen executing the pieces. Rohde remained a designer at Jensen’s company for years and is responsible for many of their most famous flatware patterns, such as Acorn. His designs favored form and line over ornament; timeless and elegant, they remain highly desirable to discerning design and silver collectors today. Rohde was awarded the Thorvaldsen Medal in 1934 from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine arts, its highest distinction. Please feel free to ask us any questions, and please see our other listings. We hand polish all items before shipping them out, but if there is interest for a professional polishing and/or engraving removal, we can take care of that for an additional charge and with delayed shipping.

Creator:

Georg Jensen (Maker),Johan Rohde (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 4.1 in (10.42 cm)Diameter: 4.25 in (10.8 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Silver,Sterling Silver

Place of Origin:

Denmark

Period:

20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

20th Century

Condition:

Seller Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

Seller: 4071221stDibs: LU5594236476632

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Shop All Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen

For over a century, Georg Jensen has produced some of the finest objects in Scandinavian modern design, including silver tableware, serving pieces, home decor, jewelry and more, frequently partnering with leading artisans to expand its offerings and respond to shifting tastes. Known for minimal aesthetics that reference nature, the craftsmanship of this legendary Danish silverware firm has regularly married function with thoughtful and beautiful design.

Founder Georg Jensen (1866–1935) was born in the small town of Radvaad, Denmark, and began his training as a goldsmith at 14. After studying sculpture and then training with master silversmith Mogens Ballin, he established his own silver business in Copenhagen in 1904. By 1918, the company was successful enough to open a shop in Paris.

Jensen’s firm produced an incredibly vast range of silver objects, from serving dishes and barware to centerpieces and chandeliers. For his early work, which bore ornate floral details and other organic forms of Art Nouveau, Jensen looked to the splendors of the natural world. The 1905 Blossom teapot, for instance, was topped with a magnolia bud and deftly balanced on toad feet, while some of Jensen’s best-known flatware patterns included Lily of the Valley, introduced in 1913, and Acorn, which debuted in 1915.

Collaboration with outside designers, long before such partnerships were common in design, would lead to some of the company’s most popular and enduring work of the mid-century. Sigvard Bernadotte and Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe created collections, as did Henning Koppel, whose curvy 1952 Pregnant Duck pitcher is a Georg Jensen classic.

After evolving and expanding throughout the 20th century, Georg Jensen was acquired by Investcorp in 2012. Today, the company is a global luxury brand with more than 1,000 stores around the world. It continues to produce seductive new pieces, such as a tea service made with Marc Newson in 2015, as well as timeless heritage designs, including the relaunch in 2019 of the 1018 solid sterling-silver Tureen 270. In 2020, the firm introduced the Jardinière 1505. Sculptural and richly decorative, the never-before-realized showpiece is hand-hammered from sheets of the finest sterling silver and is based on a 1915 sketch from Jensen’s archives.

Find an exquisite collection of Georg Jensen serveware, ceramics, silver and glass today on 1stDibs.