SET OF 3 GEORG JENSEN SILVER DRESS STUDS w LAPIS LAZULI

allan scharff - sculptor, silversmith and designer - was born in 1945

he is known as one of the most talented and artistic living georg jensen designers
scharff worked for the hans hansen silver smithy in kolding, denmark in the 1980's
and then became a star designer for georg jensen


his pieces are highly collectible and have been exhibited in belgium, japan, rome
and berlin. scharff has sold his pieces to places like the museum of modern art in
new york, museum fur kunst und gewerbe in hamburg, the grassimuseum in
leipzig as well as london's royal college of art collection. he has won several
awards for his work


"working with silver is almost like working with a living organism", scharff says


"certain shapes simply don't work, and the silver refuses to comply. other shapes
evolve almost naturally. when they do it is sometimes possible to lure the soul
out to the fore of the material"


"working with silver, one can weave a little magic and poetry into the design,
tempting gazing eyes to take a mystery tour." a piece created by the hand and mind
of allan scharff is easily recognizable. he understands the soul of the material and
uses the specific strengths and characteristics by adding only a few deliberate
effects. his pieces - whether they be jewelry, a shoehorn or a jug - become
sculptures alive with the designs controlled simplicity and soft, natural harmony,
storing secrets and tales


allan scharff's work expresses his widely embracing aesthetic sense and his
need for crossing frontiers, while he retains the down-to-earth practical attitude
of the craftsman. in the spirit of scandinavian design, he prizes function


he wants to create things that not only look good, but also feel good because they
work functionally well


scharff acknowledges his kinship to japanese aesthetic values. this has led him
towards simplification and scharff believes that expression is strongest at its most simple


for the last decade his inspiration from nature has centered on the bird, with its
aerodynamic and streamlined shape. the latest examples from georg jensen are
the wagtail paperweight and letter opener, a pied flycatcher silver box and a snipe
with a typical scharff interpretation, a so-called box-snipe. a proud eagle in glass
with a silver head forms a scent bottle, while the wide silver lid of a powder box is
shaped like a sandpiper


scharff explains: "i was very preoccupied with discovering the fewest possible lines
one could use to depict a specific bird without losing its identity
i'm still fascinated by that"


during his apprenticeship at georg jensen in the 60's, scharff hammered out many
of the great sculptor and designer henning koppel's large and demanding pieces
of hollowware. he was given the honor of being "koppel's hands" when koppel was
developing new works. "koppel regretted that he could not shape the silver himself


he described in words what he wanted, had drawings or plaster models made,
but he had to explain the expression he sought in the silver in person. it was just like
having private tuition and it fired my desire to do the same on my own: designing"