Georg Jensen Lapis Lazuli Ball and Gold Cufflinks, Designed by Magnus Stephensen, Circa 1960
Georg Jensen Lapis Lazuli Ball and Gold Cufflinks, Designed by Magnus Stephensen, Circa 1960
£3,900.00
Description
A pair of vintage Georg Jensen lapis lazuli ball and 18ct yellow gold cufflinks, designed by Magnus Stephensen, with lapis lazuli balls, with some calcite and pyrite, encircled by a ring of gold, on fixed, flat, curved bars on flat oval plates, on hinges. Signed Georg Jensen, in dotted oval cartouche, design number 1104, 750 18K, made in Denmark, circa 1960.
Magnus Læssøe Stephensen was a Danish designer of jewellery, furniture, ceramics, cutlery, flatware and hollowware. He was born on 12th October, 1903 and died in 1984, in Helsingør, at the age of 81.
Magnus Stephensen’s revolutionary approach to design did away with the extravagant flourishes of the time. Inspired by the simplicity of Bauhaus and Japanese arts and crafts, his designs focused on clean lines and practicality.
He enrolled at the Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen, in 1924, to study architecture. He graduated in 1930. He then worked at the architects’ design studio of Edvard Thomsen and Frits Schlegels for a year. During 1931 he studied at the French school, in Athens and travelled in Europe, the Far East and USA. He returned to Copenhagen in 1932 and opened his own design studio. He continued to collaborate with Thomsen and Schlegels. During the 1930s Stephensen gained commissions for a great number of houses and buildings in the Copenhagen area.
In 1938 he started working with silversmith and designer Kay Bojesen, one of Georg Jensen's first apprentices, who became an important Danish silversmith and designer. Bojesen believed in functionalist design. Magnus Stephensen produced designs and drawings for silver, to be produced by Kay Bojesen. His designs from this period are simple, refined and smooth, inspired both by Kay Bojesens style and by Japanese handicrafts. Stephensen went on to write a book called "Brugsting Fra Japan" - "Useful Things from Japan". Stephensen's philosophy was that the function of a silver item should be apparent from its shape and form. The collaboration with Bojesen lasted until 1952.
From 1952 he designed hollowware and flatware, both in silver and steel, for Georg Jensen. Among his most famous designs is the steel flatware, Tuja, from 1955 and the silver flatware, Fregat (Argo in English) from 1961.
In 1956 Stephensen started producing designs for ceramic pots and dishes for Royal Copenhagen and Alumina.
He closed his studio in 1971. He had one son, Jens Stephensen.
Stephensen's designs are exhibited in the Design Museum Denmark and in museums worldwide. He won the Eckersberg medal, in 1948, three gold medals at the Triennale in Milan in 1951 and 1957, for silver designs and two Grand Prixs at the Triennale in Milan, in 1954, for works in steel and silver as well as a silver medal in 1960.
With thanks to Greg Pepin Silver, Utility Design UK and Georg Jensen Hollowware, The Silverfund Collection, by David A. Taylor & Jason W. Laskey, 2003
| item details | |
|---|---|
| Origin | European Other |
| Period | 1960s |
| Style | Mid-Century |
| Condition | Good |
| Materials | Gold |
| Main Gemstone | Lapis Lazuli |
| Main Gemstone Cut | Cabochon Cut |
| Carat for Gold | 18 K |
| Hallmark | Georg Jensen, in dotted oval cartouche, design number 1104, 750 18K |
| Dimensions | Balls 12mm, ovals 19.6 x 6.4mm, length 23mm. 12.26g |
Product REF: S20624CL
