File:Compote and candlesticks - Erik Magnussen.jpg

Compote and candlesticks on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Erik Magnussen (1884-1961) was born in Denmark and began an apprenticeship as a sculptor in his uncle's art gallery in 1898. He also studied sculpting under the Copenhagen-based Norwegian sculptor Stephan Sinding (1846-1922), and silver chasing under the silversmith Hans Christian Viggo Hansen (1859-1930). From 1907 to 1909, he worked as a chaser in the workshop of Otto Rohloff (1863-1919) at the Unterrichtsanstalt des königlichen Kunstgewerbe-Museums (Royal School and Museum of Applied Arts) in Berlin, Germany. He returned to Copenhagen and opened his own jewelry and silver shop, where he designed items in the style of Danish jewelrymaker Georg Jensen (1866-1935) as well as various types of silver items. Lacking patrons, he closed his shop in 1912 and accepted a post as Director of the Department of Arts and Crafts at Bing and Gröndahl, where he designed porcelains decorated with gold and silver. He worked briefly in 1921 as a ceramics designer at the P. Ipsens Enke terra cotta factory. He continued to make jewelry, and in 1922 one of his designs won the grand prize at the International Exposition in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1925, he emigrated to the United States and set up a studio in New York City. That same year, the Gorham Manufacturing Co. hired Magnussen as its artistic director to reinvigorate its line of household silver goods. Initially, Magnussen designed Neoclassical items with Danish themes (like domes, vines, talons, tulips, and fluting). In 1927, he astonished the world by designing a Cubist-inspired tea set. A masterpiece of angular forms and color, it is one of the icons of 20th-century American silverwork. Unfortunately, Magnussen's work for Gorham began just as the Great Depression set in, and his work sold poorly. He left Gorham in 1929 to work for the New York branch of the German firm of August Dingeldein & Son. He moved to Chicago in 1932, and Los Angeles in 1934. He returned to Denmark in 1939.

These items are made of sterling silver, ivory, and ebony. They were designed as a "console set", meaning that they were to be placed together as a group on a console table or sideboard.

It was common for Danish silversmiths in the employ of a firm to produce their own work on the side. Gorham granted Magnussen the same privilege. In addition, Gorham allowed Magnussen to distribute his designs through small clubs and "taste-making" organzations. One of these was the Women Decorators’ Club of New York City.

This console set was hand-made by Magnussen for the Women Decorators' Club show in 1927. This set was strongly praised for its craftsmanship, imaginative details, dramatic contrasts, and highly accented design elements.

1. CMAJazzAge