Does the Georg Jensen Blossom sterling silver pattern relate to Mexican Blossom sterling patterns?

I know that Georg Jensen of Denmark has a sterling silver pattern called Blossom originally designed around 1919. The Jensen pattern appears to be very like this Mexican Blossom pattern though perhaps a little more refined. What I am wondering is if there is a formal connection between the Mexican pattern and the Danish pattern or if it's just a matter of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

I have several Mexican sterling silver serving pieces consisting of a sauce ladle and a large salad fork and spoon. I know they look similar to Danish Georg Jensen Blossom pieces but I have no Jensen pieces for comparison.

My pieces are all made in Mexico with two bearing the "1" mark of Mexico City from the 1960s I believe. The marks read RR 925 mm Hecho en Mexico DF and Hecho en Mexico 925 L.M. DER (possibly not an R) Sterling.

In size the fork and spoon are 11½" long and weigh a hefty 381 grams combined while the ladle is more petite measuring 6½" and weighing 57 grams.

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

The shape of the bowl and fork of the salad set make them look very Scandinavian. Here's the Jensen set: http://www.antiques.com/classified/Antique-Silver/Georg-Jensen/Antique-Georg-Jensen-Blossom-Servers I have a feeling that your Mexican set is heavily "inspired" by the Jensen design.

 

One of the sites I looked at said 1919 for the introduction of this design by Jensen.

 

I know that Replacements has this ladle by Georg Jensen in a size near the Mexican version which looks similar but "inspired" may be a good description. I was wondering if there was some partnership or business venture between Jensen and the Mexico silversmiths.

It looks like the bowl may have hammer marks and the curve of the stem seems very delicately crafted on the Danish Blossom pattern versus the Mexican Blossom. I don't know how they compare in weight, the Mexico sterling silver pieces are quite heavy. Perhaps they make up in weight what they might lack in refinement. However I do like them all very much!

http://www.replacements.com/webquote/GEJBLO.htm

 

I have to admit that I like modern Scandinavian designs for flatware rather than traditional stuff. So even if the Mexican set is not the "real deal" it still looks pretty great. DH says "planished" rather hammered, BWDIK?

 

Planished, there is a word I don't know. Here's what is says on Wikipedia if anyone else is wondering.
Planishing
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Diagram of planishing, showing planishing hammer, workpiece, and planishing stake (hammer not to scale)
Planishing (from the Latin planus, "flat")[1] is a metalworking technique that involves finishing the surface by finely shaping and smoothing sheet metal. This is done by hammering with a planishing panel hammer or slapper file against a shaped surface called a planishing stake that is held in a vice or a mounting hole in a blacksmith's beak anvil,[2] or against hand-held, shaped, metal tools that are known as Dollies or Anvils. The shape of the stake or dolly has to match the desired work piece contour, and so they come in a variety of complex shapes. Alternatively, planishing may be done by the use of an English Wheel. After approximately forming a metal object, by stretching with techniques such as sinking and raising, and then shaping and smoothing an object, metal workers use planishing for surface finishing. Planishing is a hand-driven process used in auto body repair and sheet metal craft work such as medieval armour production.
Common tools used for planishing include panel beating hammers, slappers, and neck hammers[3] Heavy rawhide or hardwood hammers are often used. It is more difficult to make mistakes with heavy rawhide or wood mallets, but they are less effective for large imperfections.[4] A worker, using repeated, relatively soft glancing blows, smooths the metal toward the curvature of the stake. If the metal begins to look dimpled, the worker is using too much force in individual hammer blows.[4]
Since planishing hammers are generally in contact with the outside surface of the piece, they are flat, have rounded edges and are polished to avoid marring the work.[5] Pneumatic (air powered) planishing hammers strike hundreds of blows per minute.
Care must be taken not to allow sheet metal to work harden and become brittle during planishing. If it does, it must be annealed

 

The Jensen Blossom looks to my eyes as a variant/advancement on his Fuschia pattern. Fuschia seem to be the basis of the bellflower motif that was very popular over many years in both silver and furniture decoration. Jensen was certainly not the only one using it, but he did take it to fine art.

 

I really should have linked you to a pic of Jensen's Fuschia in that post. Here you go so you can see what I meant about "advancement" from Fuschia to Blossom.

http://www.925-1000.com/patterns_Jensen.html

 

That's a great link and you can certainly see how the bellflower was taken to it's full 3-D effect.

"I have to admit that I like modern Scandinavian designs for flatware rather than traditional stuff."

You know I'm all over the place, I love the very old and the very modern. The Norwegian in me loves Scandinavian too!

 

I learned about the bombardment of the atoms in metal and the annealing process. I made two silver ingots the length of a pencil and the same diameter around.

I made a 10 dollar bet with a friend and said "do you think I can bend this piece of metal with only my thumb and finger? He said NO! So I bent it with ease. Then I said "will you pay me 10 bucks if you can't bend it back?" He said "YES" So I handed it to him and he tried and tried also using two hands but could not.

I then gave him the other piece and let him in on my secret. He bent the piece with ease but could not bend it back Then I pounded the U shaped ingot back to its original shape and torched it and it was ready for future bets

 

BTW, I like your sterling set

 

[QUOTE=" "1" mark of Mexico City from the 1960s I believe. The marks read RR 925 mm Hecho en Mexico DF and Hecho en Mexico 925 L.M. DER (possibly not an R) Sterling. [/QUOTE]

This RR in a circle stamp is one used by the noted Sanborn Brothers. It is pictured on p. 172, fig. S-13, of Hougart's The Little Book of Mexican Silver Trade and Hallmarks. Usually there is another stamp with the 3 owl logo of Sanborn. It has a picture of the same RR stamp as yours as well as the 3-owl logo stamp of Sanborn and an Eagle 22 stamp. After "Hecho en Mexico" is "D.F." - not DER. D.F. stands for the Distrito Federal, Federal District of the City of Mexico.

Hougart's book is online with some of the pages available for reading. Page 172 with your mark is one of the pages. Here is a link to it. Scroll down a couple of pages to 172 - at the top of the page. The start of the Sanborn section is on page 170.

http://books.google.com/books?id=4n7_jNrBp9EC&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=Sanborn Brothers of Mexico City silver marks&source=bl&ots=462KgK-GXB&sig=icgCDt8dqBoXkkSTaF3j-QqkMGg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KAioU8DTC4elqAa21oJA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Sanborn Brothers of Mexico City silver marks&f=false

--- Susan

 

>"1" mark of Mexico City from the 1960s I believe.<

I should have added that the Eagle number usually represents the "city of assay **or** an individual maker." The eagle stamp on yours the "newer version" of the stamp used from c1955 to 1980. According to Hougart on p. 170, Sanborn silver were stamped with either an Eagle 1 or an Eagle 22 stamp.

--- Susan

 

>"1" mark of Mexico City from the 1960s I believe.<

I should have added that the Eagle number usually represents the "city of assay **or** an individual maker." The eagle stamp on yours is the "newer version" of the stamp used from c1955 to 1980. According to Hougart on p. 170, Sanborn silver was stamped with either an Eagle 1 or an Eagle 22 stamp.

--- Susan

 

Hi Susan,
Thanks for the great info. On the salad set, do you think that the RR mark without it saying Sanborn is still a Sanborn mark? These pieces are huge and there would have been plenty of surface area to add more stamps. (Actually one piece of the set has even fewer stamps.)

The mark on my ladle is partially worn or obscured but I found another ladle on eBay with a clearer mark and I think that one is L.M. DER, at least I think that's what is says. The other mark on my salad set does look like DF after "Mexico ".

 

Sorry, I haven't been back online sooner. My DH had a prostate procedure a couple of days ago and that has kept me busy. Between you, me and the fence post, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for their discomfort until the male specie has a baby or two!


>On the salad set, do you think that >the RR mark without it saying Sanborn is still a Sanborn mark? These pieces are huge and there would have been plenty of surface area to add more stamps. <

Gee, say_it..., I don't know. Hoping Cheryl might stop by with her opinion. Baker (Sue), Sue and whomever, what do y'all think? Sanborn has at least a couple of other marks with initials. The initial stamps might be silversmiths working in the shop or Sanborn Brothers had some of their work like outsourced?? Outsourced really isn't the word I'm looking for, but I suspect it gets the idea across. If RR did work for Sanborn, this flatware without a Sanborn stamp might be something RR did on their own??? I just don't know what to tell you.

--- Susan

 

Found the following on Ruby Lane with the dame LM DER triangle mark.

http://www.rubylane.com/item/870812-LMDer/Sauce-Ladle-Mex78ican-Sterling-Silver-LM

--- Susan

 

"Sorry, I haven't been back online sooner. My DH had a prostate procedure a couple of days ago and that has kept me busy. Between you, me and the fence post, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for their discomfort until the male specie has a baby or two! "




Cracked up when you said that....I've thought the same thing !

Wonder who DER was though since I have at least two different makers of this pattern I'm guessing it was made quite a lot of places. I lived in Arizona as a child and have fond memories of regular visits to Mexico. I have a special place in my heart for Mexican silver and pottery.

Here is a photos of a Jensen blossom which is very gracile by comparison to my eye but I still love the hearty Mexican version. I guess maybe there is no connection between the Danish and the Mexican version other than similar style.

 

I wish I had something to add, but not really. No clue who/what RR is.....perhaps referring to Rancho R (something).

I do have a very interesting book.....'Silver Masters of Mexico' - Penny C. Morrill. Although it does have many photos of pieces and some marks, it concentrates primarily on the lives and histories of some of the major players in the silver heydays 30s - 50s.....the relationships between them all....how one maestro's work influenced another..etc. Some of them were very well traveled - even schooled in Europe. Although I have nothing to go on, I think it is very possible this was influenced (obviously) by Jensen's pattern(s). Similar style elements were used by several. As to a connection to Sanborn's, I don't know. They had many connections to various big names.

I have no idea about copyright laws, patents and such, if any in Mexico.

 

Sorry, not really able to help on any Sanborn's connection, and don't have the Hougart book - will say that some Mexican silver jewelry collectors have gathered a good bit of knowledge on the connections between the shops.

Regarding the style, it's clearly Scandinavian-inspired, or 'Jensenesque' if you prefer, though other makers produced similar designs. Pretty common form in WWII era and later American and Mexican silver (most intended for the American market) - the German occupation of Denmark and Norway in 1940 pretty well cut off the supply from their silver manufacturers. Frederick Lunning of Jensen USA in New York solved the problem by having local silversmiths, like La Paglia, de Matteo, Meyer, etc., produce similar designs; American manufacturers had already started producing Scandinavian patterns in both flatware and holloware in the mid to late '30s - International's 1939 'Royal Danish' is clearly based on Jensen's 1915 'Acorn/Konge' pattern, and my 1942 pattern, 'Spring Glory', has a beaded bell-shape flower motif. The popularity of Scandinavian style continued for decades, International even hired La Paglia after the war (and the lawsuit involving Georg Jensen and Jensen USA), a lot of the Scandinavian-inspired designs are collectible in their own right...

U.S. design patents could be granted for 3½, 7 or 14 years, only 14 after 1982, 15 since late last year - similar limits are usual in other countries.

~Cheryl