332: A GEORG JENSEN PRE-1932 LOUVRE BOWL #180 WITH COVER

The iconic early design by Georg Jensen is found here with an unusual lid, cover, with decorative orb and ball-capped tendrils.

What follows is an excerpt from Janet Drucker's book, George Jensen A Tradition of Splendid Silver, published by Schiffer Publishing Limited, 1997:

''A silver bowl, number 19, designed around 1910 was another stunning creation. In this composition, a deep bowl with notched rim thrust upward from a base by a number of vertical leaf-like forms, thus creating the illusion that the heavy bowl is hovering weightlessly. This piece is frequently called the Louvre Bowl because an example is in the collection of the Louvre museum in Paris. Jensen's pride in this bowl is evidenced by the fact that it was frequently featured in the advertisements his firm placed in the leading American, Danish, English, French, and German decorative-arts magazines of the period.''

Of this craftsmanship the French art critic Pierre Lahalle wrote, 'It is by means of a discrete hammering of the smooth surfaces that George Jensen's work achieves its incomparable beauty; this bright vibration in the silver subdues it's excessive gloss, removes every thought of mechanical labor, reveals the hand of the worker…'
Measures 6.25 x 5 inches, weighs 15.20 ozt.
Very good to fine condition throughout, and free from damage, repair wear, monogram, engraving or over-polishing.
Provenance: The collection of Josephine Bird Hall (1888 - 1948) by descent to her son, the present owner. Josephine's father was a founder of Kansas City's Emery, Bird, Thayer Department Store.
$1,500 - $2,500