Brooch thumbnail 1
Brooch thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Brooch

ca. 1950 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the 1950s and ’60s Scandinavian design, with its simplicity of form and natural materials, was influential all over the world in many media, from textiles to furniture. Jewellery was designed around organic shapes, often merging to become miniature sculptural elements. Finely crafted silver was the preferred material, often in combination with inexpensive gemstones in unconventional cuts and asymmetrical compositions.

Unlike other European companies, which preferred anonymity, the Scandinavian firms such as Georg Jensen in Denmark promoted their designers and encouraged them to make a name of their own, such as Henning Koppel.

Henning Koppel was trained in drawing, watercolours, and later sculpture at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, and in Paris. He is renowned for his product designs. During the Second World War Koppel fled to Sweden, where he worked at Svensk Ten in metals and Orrefors in glass. At the age of 27 he returned to Denmark and began to design for Georg Jensen silver and jewellery. He created his first range of silver jewellery for Jensen in 1945. The pieces had simple, asymmetric organic shapes of great sculptural beauty and purity. They were classic examples of what was soon seen as a distinctively Scandinavian style. Koppel's designs were highly innovative at the time. Many are still in production to this day. He designed ceramics, glass, lighting and furniture for a number of Scandinavian companies.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Silver brooch, designed and made by Henning Koppel for Georg Jensen, Denmark, ca.1950
Physical description
Silver brooch in the form of a triangle with slightly irregular sides. The lower part of the brooch is lightly recessed to create an impression of depth.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.9cm
  • Width: 6.1cm
  • Depth: 0.9cm
Object history
In 1945, the sculptor Henning Koppel created his first range of silver jewellery for the Danish firm Georg Jensen. The simple, asymmetric organic shapes that he created were of great sculptural beauty and purity, classic examples of what was soon regarded as a distinctively Scandinavian style. Immensely innovative at the time, many have remained in production to this day.
Production
Made for the firm of Georg Jensen.
Summary
In the 1950s and ’60s Scandinavian design, with its simplicity of form and natural materials, was influential all over the world in many media, from textiles to furniture. Jewellery was designed around organic shapes, often merging to become miniature sculptural elements. Finely crafted silver was the preferred material, often in combination with inexpensive gemstones in unconventional cuts and asymmetrical compositions.

Unlike other European companies, which preferred anonymity, the Scandinavian firms such as Georg Jensen in Denmark promoted their designers and encouraged them to make a name of their own, such as Henning Koppel.

Henning Koppel was trained in drawing, watercolours, and later sculpture at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, and in Paris. He is renowned for his product designs. During the Second World War Koppel fled to Sweden, where he worked at Svensk Ten in metals and Orrefors in glass. At the age of 27 he returned to Denmark and began to design for Georg Jensen silver and jewellery. He created his first range of silver jewellery for Jensen in 1945. The pieces had simple, asymmetric organic shapes of great sculptural beauty and purity. They were classic examples of what was soon seen as a distinctively Scandinavian style. Koppel's designs were highly innovative at the time. Many are still in production to this day. He designed ceramics, glass, lighting and furniture for a number of Scandinavian companies.
Bibliographic reference
Jewels and Jewellery Clare Phillips, V&A Publications, 2000
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.136-1959

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Record createdFebruary 3, 2003
Record URL
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