Jensen Collection

The Jensen Collection – October 12, 2017

A collection of almost 200 lots comprising Midcentury furniture, Scandinavian lighting design and design objects gathered by late art historian Jens Christian Jensen (2013) and his wife Angelika Jensen. Jensen headed the Kunsthalle Kiel from 1971-1990 and functioned as CEO of the Schleswig-Holstein Art Society. In addition, from 1972-2005, he was a member of the academic advisory council of the Georg Schäfer collection in Schweinfurt. In 1979 he received an honorary chair of the county of Schleswig-Holstein “in appreciation of his merits for vitalizing the arts in Schleswig-Holstein and to honor his scientific achievements and ministrations of the art”. Jensen wrote numerous publications and articles on medieval sculpture and modern art and graphics. The art historian and his wife loved to surround themselves with renowned designs of the 20th century. Together they built a collection that mirrored their sense of originality and quality, from French Art Nouveau glass to Murano Glass, designs from the Bauhaus, silverware and objects by Georg Jensen, pieces of jewelry by Paul Wunderlich up to design classics by Charles Eames, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (two 'MR 20' cantilever chairs, €5,000-7,000) and numerous important lights by Louis Poulsen. Among the design classics is a 'Paimio' wardrobe by Alvar Aalto (€3,500-5,000) and a writing desk by Wells Coates, 1935 (€1,500-1,800). Several electric water kettles by Peter Behrens for AEG tell of Angelika Jensen's passion for the development of electrical devices. She had already donated a larger collection of these appliances to the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck a few years ago.

Report on 134D 'Jensen Collection' – 12 October 2017

Fervent battles – high hammer prices – The private collection created a furor. T he auction week culminated in the sale of the private collection of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. A huge crowd gathered in the auction room, bids increasing promptly.

Numerous potential buyers battled over the diverse lighting designs by Poul Henningsen, the telephone lines glowed red hot, resulting in the record price of €24,000 for the 'PH 5/3' floor lamp.

Almost all lots of the collection surpassed their estimates by far. For example, the large vase in the style of Axel Salto received €36,000.

Purchase unsold lots in the post-auction sale until 3 November.