Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2007

The Danish silversmith Georg Jensen (1866–1935) first established a worldwide reputation as a designer of flatware, hollowware, and jewelry in the arts and crafts idiom of the early twentieth century, then went on to become a foremost international designer of elegant and refined silver creations in the modernist style. This book surveys his work from his beginnings as a self-taught artist through his apprenticeship to a master silversmith and beyond. His work is highly sought after today, and he is considered one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century.

Richly illustrated, the book provides thorough, detailed coverage of the full range of Jensen’s jewelry. The contributors to the volume consider Jensen in the context of American modernist jewelry, the significance of the international exhibitions and World’s Fairs at which he first promoted his work, and the output of his company, where his own designs and those of current silversmiths working in related styles continue to be produced. Collectors, design historians, and admirers of Jensen’s original designs will be delighted with this splendid and wide-ranging display of his work.

David Taylor is a folklorist and curator at the Library of Congress. He has been conducting research on Georg Jensen for more than thirty years and has published a book on Jensen’s hollowware.