brooch;
jewellery-case
- Museum number
- 1981,0608.1
- Description
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Brooch; silver; hand-raised, hollow-backed, with foliate and bud design, set with central amber stone, the pendant set with a further amber bead; contained in the original leather case with paper label on top.
- Production date
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1910 (designed)
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1910-1914 (made between)
- Dimensions
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Length: 11.40 centimetres
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Width: 6.50 centimetres
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- Curator's comments
- Text from J. Rudoe, 'Decorative Arts 1850-1950. A catalogue of the British Museum collection'. 2nd ed. no.129.
Jensen was apprenticed to a goldsmith in his teens; he later studied sculpture at the Kunstakademiet in Copenhagen. Unable to make a living as a sculptor, Jensen returned to silversmithing and worked for Mogens Ballin, whose fleshy and organic interpretation of Art Nouveau strongly influenced Jensen's own designs. Jensen's first workshop was set up in 1904. It is interesting to note that the first foreign exhibition of Jensen's work took place at the Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum in Hagen in 1905. Following the purchases of Osthaus and others in Germany, a Jensen shop was open in Berlin from 1909 to 1915.
This brooch can be dated by its model number from the company record books; a different series of numbers was allocated to each class of object, i.e. a different series for brooches, necklaces etc. It is made in the low silver standard current in Denmark at that time. Amber was traditionally used in Danish jewellery and it is characteristic of Jensen to achieve colour with few other materials, either amber or a semi-precious stone such as lapis. The jewellery was usually given an oxidised patina so that the surface appears matt grey.
An identical version of this design is in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim (see Falk, F., 'Europaische Schmuck . Vom Historismus zum Jugendstil', Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim, Konigsbach-Stein 1985, no. 136).
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1981
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1981,0608.1
