DESIGNED BY ARNE JACOBSEN, 1957, MANUFACTURED BY A. MICHELSEN, C.1965

Details

'660' A One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Stainless-Steel Flatware Service
Designed by Arne Jacobsen, 1957, manufactured by A. Michelsen, c.1965
Comprising:
16 Dinner Knives
16 Dinner Forks
16 Luncheon Knives
16 Luncheon Knives
8 Table Spoons
17 Dessert Spoons
7 Large Tea Spoons
8 Tea Spoons
16 Coffee Spoons
2 Meat Forks
4 Cold Cut Forks
1 Small Serving Spoon
4 Right-Hand Sauce Ladles
5 Spice Servers
1 Butter Knife
Together with a quantity of original storage cartons
7 7/8in. (19.8cm.) length of dinner knife
Acid-stamped A. MICHELSEN, STAINLESS, DENMARK, and with AJ monogram (137)

Literature

Martin Eidelberg Ed., Design 1935-1965: What Modern Was; Selections from the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, Abrams, New York, 1991, p. 160 the model illustrated

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

The functionalist AJ660 flatware pattern was designed to co-ordinate with furniture and other fittings in Copenhagen's flagship SAS Royal Hotel, designed in 1957 and opened in 1961. Devoid of all ornament, Jacobsen's stainless-steel utensils instead emphasised a sculptural presence enhanced by their tapering silhouette. Exhibited at the Milan XI Triennale of 1957, Jacobsen's flatware achieved critical success. Manufactured initially by A. Michelsen, the flatware was retailed to the public during the 1960s and 1970s before production and distribution was assumed by Georg Jensen. The futuristic styling of the service ensured that it was selected for use on board the spacecraft in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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