Kay Bojesen (15 August 1886 – 28 August 1958) was a Danish

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

. He is best known for creating wooden animals, especially his wooden monkey which was exhibited at the

Victoria and Albert museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London in the nineteen-fifties, and which today is considered a design classic.

Early life and education

Bojesen was born on 15 August 1886 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He first trained to be a grocer, but in 1906 began working for Danish silversmith

Georg Jensen Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie). Early life Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife gr ...

. The

Danish Museum of Art & Design The Designmuseum Denmark () is a museum in Copenhagen for Danish and international design and crafts. It features works of famous Danish designers like Arne Jacobsen, Jacob Jensen and Kaare Klint, who was one of the two architects who remodeled ...

describes his early work as being in an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style, likely due to Jensen's influence.

Career

In 1922, Bojesen began designing wooden toys, typically about six to ten inches tall, with moveable limbs. These included a teak and limba monkey (1951), an oak elephant, a bear made of oak and maple, a rocking horse of beech, a parrot, a dachshund, and

toy soldier A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve ...

s of the Danish Royal Guard including a drummer, a private with rifle and a standard-bearer. In 1990, Danish design house

Rosendahl Rosendahl is a municipality in the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately north-west of Coesfeld. In this municipality is located the Castle of Darfeld, internation ...

bought the rights to the toys. In 1931, Bojesen was one of the key founders of the design exhibition gallery and shop called "Den Permanente" (The Permanent), a collective which aimed to exhibit the best of Danish design. Kay_Bojesen_toys

Bojesen also designed furniture for children, jewellery and housewares. A set of stainless steel cutlery he designed in 1938 won the Grand Prix at the

Milan Triennial IX The Milan Triennial IX was the Triennial in Milan sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) on the 7 June 1950. Its theme was ''Goods - Standard''. It was held at the Palazzo dell'Arte and ran from 12 May 1951 to 5 November ...

of 1951, after which Bojesen named the set “Grand Prix.” Today, the Grand Prix cutlery has been relaunched and is being manufactured by Kay Bojesen's granddaughter, Susanne Bojesen Rosenqvist. The Grand Prix is known as the national cutlery of Denmark and is to be found in every Danish Embassy worldwide.

Legacy

Bojesen died on 28 August 1958, at the age of 72. His shop in Copenhagen, which he founded in 1932, operated until the nineteen-eighties. Following his death it was continued by his widow Erna Bojesen until her death in 1986. Bojesen was an honorary member of the National Association of Danish Arts and Crafts, and was recognized for his toys by the Danish National Committee of the OEMP (World Organisation for Early Childhood Education).

References

External links

Official website

Grand Prix cutlery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bojesen, Kay Danish silversmiths 20th-century Danish metalsmiths Model manufacturers of Denmark Designers from Copenhagen Artisans from Copenhagen 1886 births 1958 deaths Art Nouveau designers Toy soldier manufacturing companies Wooden toys