On View In:
Gallery 350
Artist:   Johan Rohde
Georg Jensen  
Title:   "Cosmos" coffee and tea service  
Date:   1929 (designed 1915)  
Medium:   Silver and ebony  
Dimensions:   1 3/4 x 24 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. (4.4 x 62.2 x 41.9 cm)  
Credit Line:   Gift of The Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Foundation  
Location:   Gallery 350  

The "Cosmos," servingware designed by Rohde around 1915 is widely recognized as an icon of 20th century Scandinavian design. The collaboration between Rohde, an artist and designer who worked in many media, and Jensen began in 1906 and continued until 1935, the year of their deaths. Rohde's design synthesizes classical motifs, like the fluting on the lower portions of the pieces, with modern touches, like the stark ebony handles and spherical forms, resulting in a service that is both elegant and modern. In 1929, Frederick Weyerhaeuser III and his bride Margaret Gertrude Ludwig received as a wedding present the seven pieces from the "Cosmos" line of servingware shown here: the oval tray, teapot, coffee pot, waste bowl, creamer, covered sugar bowl, and hot milk jug. Twenty-five years later, their children presented them with a hot water kettle on stand from the original line in celebration of their silver wedding anniversary. In 1999, the family donated the set to the Institute.The kettle is currently on display in the exhibition "Enhancing the Everyday: Modern Design in the Nordic Countries" at the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Artist/Creator(s)     
Name:   Rohde, Johan  
Role:   Designer  
Nationality:   Danish  
Life Dates:   Danish, 1856-1935  
 
Name:   Georg Jensen  
Role:   Manufacturer  
Life Dates:   1904-present  
 

Object Description  
  
Inscriptions:   Stamp; Inscription  
Classification:   Metalwork  
Physical Description:   oval tray with dark wood handles; alternating three beads and spaces at rim; handles joined to tray by flower and spiral leaves  
Creation Place:   Europe, Denmark, , , Copenhagen  
Accession #:   99.195.19.1  
Owner:   The Minneapolis Institute of Arts