GEORG HARALD SLOTT-MOLLER – ANTON MICHELSEN – BEAKER, 1898

BEAKER, 1898
Chased and repoussé silver, silver gilt, pearls
Stamped Michelsen / Danish mark / 98 / O M / V W / SG ( for assay master Simon Groth) / H. Slott-Möller / del. / 1898
Height: 16 cm.

Anton Michelsen (1809-77) opened his first shop in Denmark in 1841. For several generations, he was the leading firm of gold and silversmiths, with significant influence on Danish jewelry design during the 19th and early 20th century. A Michelsen was among the first and the last to work in the Old Nordic style.

More widely known as a painter, Harald Sløtt-Moller worked for the Anton Michelsen Silversmithy during the Skønvirke period of design, circa 1880-1920. Skønvirke was the Danish equivalent of the English Arts and Crafts, German Jugendstil and French Art Nouveau movements. Sløtt-Mollers pieces, as evident in the offered lot, were influenced by the Japonisme style which grew in popularity following Japan’s exhibition at the Paris World’s Fair in 1867.

A relatable example of this model is in the permanent collection of the Musée d’Orsay, accession no. OAO 1297, and a teapot by the designer, also in the Japonisme style, is in the collection of the Design Museum, Denmark, accession no. 11a-b/1991.