Designer: Magnus Stephensen (1903 – 1984)

Item: Tuja Tanaqvil Carving Set

Manufactured by: Georg Jensen

Country of origin: Denmark

Year made: Circa 1955

Materials: Stainless steel and Rosewood

Dimensions: Knife is ½” x 14 ½” x 1”, Fork is ½” x 13” x ¾” and box is1” x 15” x 4 ½” 

Condition: Mint in original box; box shows some age-related toning and stains, but the set appears unused. 

Description: This simple and elegant modern masterpiece of a carving set was designed by Magnus Stephensen in 1955 for Georg Jensen as part of Stephensen’s important Tuja/Tanaqvil flatware pattern.  After considerable searching, we finally found a circa 1955-60 Georg Jensen catalog or promotional flier advertisement for this set that has affirmatively identified Stephensen as its designer.  

His designs for Jensen are highly sought after, and his flatware and hollowware in stainless steel command very high prices.  These sets are getting harder to find, and this is the first we have seen that is mint and unused.  Both the blade of the knife and one of the tines of the fork are engraved “georg jensen denmark stainless”.  The Rosewood is beautifully grained and feels great in the hands.  We have seen a few of these sets come to market and they are beginning to gain attention for their outstanding minimalist and modernist aesthetic and complete functionality.  

 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 is in many major museum design collections such as 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.