Georg Jensen, Grape Bowl 263B candlesticks

GEORG JENSEN (Denmark, 1866 - 1935).
Pair of candlesticks "Grape Bowl 263B", design 1918. Edition after 1945.
Sterling silver.
With punches on the base.
Measurements: 20 x 13 x 13 x 13 cm.

Design No. 263B, created by Jensen in 1918, catapulted the master silversmith to the top of the international art scene, making him one of the leading figures in the decorative arts of the 20th century. When he died in 1935, the New York Herald Tribune commemorated him as "the greatest silversmith of the last 300 years". The piece in question, a pair of cup-shaped candlesticks of historicist inspiration, has a flat circular foot, slightly raised in the center to join the foot, and an original shaft structure with a knotted shaft in the form of a balustraded column decorated with torsal grooves, with base and capital formed by large ovoid fruits. The sub-cup, differentiated, is decorated with hanging bunches of grapes, in a rounded shape, joined by delicately worked sinuous stems. The cups are smooth, with mirrored surfaces, and curve slightly outward to create an open mouth.

A Danish silversmith active in the late 19th and early decades of the 20th century, Jensen was the son of a knife sharpener from Raadvad, north of Copenhagen. He began his training as a silversmith at the age of fourteen in the Danish capital, as a disciple of Guldsmed Andersen, and became independent in 1884 to follow his own creative path. Interested in sculpture since he was a child, he then entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in 1892. From this date he began to exhibit his works. Although his clay sculpture will be well received, Jensen will focus on applied arts to earn a living. Thus, he began to work as a modeler in the porcelain manufactory Bing & Grøndahl, and from 1898 he combined this activity with his work in the small ceramic workshop that he founded with Christian Petersen. However, although his pieces were again well received, his sales were not enough to support Jensen and his family, so in 1901 he abandoned ceramics and began working as a silversmith and designer with Mogens Ballin. Three years later he became independent and opened his own silversmith's workshop in Copenhagen in 1904. Jensen's training as a silversmith and his education in fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines to revive the tradition of the artisan artist. Soon, the beauty and quality of his Art Nouveau creations fascinated the public, ensuring his success. By the end of the 1920s, his Copenhagen workshop had grown considerably, and he had also opened stores in New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, Berlin and other cities. In fact, during this decade Jensen sold his designs manufactured in Spain in the old jewelry store located at number 90 Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona. Today, the firm that bears his name is still active and has become the paradigm of Scandinavian luxury design.