Designer: Magnus Stephensen (1903 – 1984)

Item: Coffee Service Set #34

Manufactured by: Georg Jensen

Country of origin: Denmark

Year made: 1955

Materials: Stainless Steel and Ebony

Dimensions: Coffee pot is 5” high x 8” total width to end of handle x 5 ½” deep from spout. The creamer is 1 ¾” x 6” to end of handle and the sugar is 1 ¾” x 3 ¾” in diameter with lid.

Condition: Very good used condition with some very small light staining spots to the stainless steel.  No dents, dings or damage.

References: Hatje, Gerd, idea 55 International Design Annual, George Wittenborn (1955) page 111; Fiell, Charlotte & Peter, 50s Decorative Art, Taschen (2000) page 486; New York Design Exhibited Renwick Gallery of the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 29 - July 6, 1980; Design Illustrated Renwick Gallery of the National Collection of Fine Arts, Georg Jensen Silversmithy, 77 Artists, 75 years, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1980.

Description: This simple but elegant modern masterpiece of a coffee service was designed by Magnus Stephensen in 1955 for Georg Jensen.  We have only seen two variations of this set, one with stacking coffee and tea pots, and this one, but both using the ebony side handles and same creamer and sugar and the same lids.  Each piece is marked Georg Jensen Denmark #34 on the underside.  These sets are very very hard to find.  Examples of Stephensen’s designs for Jensen can be found in important museum collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.   

 Stephensen graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in 1931 and set up his own design studio. Early in his career he was designing apartment buildings, schools and waterworks, and later began designing objects to be used in the home. He designed silver serving pieces for the Kay Bojesen Silversmithy from 1932 to 1952, and ceramic pots and dishes for Royal Copenhagen in the 1950s.  Starting in about 1950 he designed flatware and hollowware for Georg Jensen in both sterling silver and stainless steel.  Stephensen's designs for Jensen are characterized by their clean and subtle lines and unornamented forms.  Many of his designs draw on traditional Japanese design. Stephensen wrote a book called Brugsting Fra Japan ("Useful Things from Japan"). His work for Georg Jensen has been included in many important exhibitions around the world and can be found in the permanent collections of many major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and many others. Stephensen also received many design awards including the prestigious Eckersberg medal in 1948, and several medals at the Milan Triennale.