Born in Østre Toten, Norway, David Andersen (1843 - 1901) is one of Scandinavia's most revered jewellers, establishing a design firm that became world-famous for its enamel silver jewellery and silverware, and to this day continues to lead Nordic jewellery design.

See also: The 9 Most Popular Jewellery Brands

From 1859, Andersen began working as an apprentice under Jacob Tostrup, a renowned Norwegian jeweller, at his workshop in Christiania – what is now Oslo. Tostrup's company was responsible for creating the enamelled insignia for the Order of St. Olav, established in 1848. A young Andersen honed his enamel skills whilst working under Torstrup. 

See also: The Art of Ornamentation: Van Vianen Silver

In 1876, Andersen established his own goldsmith workshop in Oslo, producing silver enamelled jewellery and also expanding his production to decorations and kitchen accessories. Soon, the Andersen name became at the forefront of goldsmithery in Norway, forming an integral part of the country's decorative industry. Andersen chose to cultivate young creative talent, and from 1899, he employed 121 designers, a lot of which were women.

Want more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free newsletter!

David Andersen died in 1901, but his son, Arthur Andersen, took control of the company and elevated it to even higher success. Since the 1920s, acclaimed contemporary jewellery designers have worked for the Andersen firm. Between 1929-1970 Harry Sorby, the great Modernist jewellery designer lent his talents to the company. From 1961 to 1985, Bjørn Sigurd Østern was employed at the firm and from 1964 to 2002 Marianne Berg, another Modernist designer, who predominately worked with geometric shapes, was part of the firm.

See also: Arts & Crafts Jewellery: a Pure Art Form

Today, Andersen's own enamel designs can be seen in the collection at Oslo's National Museum. His most famous pieces include leaf motif jewellery, butterflies, and various abstract landscapes. The brand's designs also often appear at auctions and in private collections. David-Andersen, the company's name since its rebrand, has become practically synonymous with mid-century enamelled silver jewellery. 

This is an updated version of an article originally published on 24 January 2018.

Discover the story behind David Andersen, one of Norway's leading names in jewellery design.

David Andersen: Collecting Vintage Norwegian Jewellery

Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke, president of BRAFA, saw this 68th chapter of the fair as a 'return to the roots' for a multigenerational public, whose new location (the Brussels Expo, in the north of Brussels) did not in any way disturb their experience. Sixty-five thousand visitors, collectors, museum curators, decorators and art lovers came to discover the fair from all over Europe, but also from Japan, Mexico and the United States.

The theme of this year's fair was Art Nouveau, as a tribute to Belgium, where one of the national stars, Victor Horta, designed the Hotel Tassel in Brussels (1892), considered the first Art Nouveau house ever built.

BRAFA was founded in Brussels in 1956 and is one of the oldest art fairs in the world, attracting a community of dealers and visitors who share a taste for beautiful things from all eras. The fair includes everything from art from Africa, the Americas, Oceania, European art, Ancient art, Modern art, Contemporary art, and much more.

BRAFA is characterised by an eclecticism that could be reminiscent of the positioning of TEFAF, all with a much more surprising layout than the prestigious Maastricht fair, whose aisles are defined by stands. BRAFA, whose name evokes its attachment to the Belgian capital, could also have positioned itself in the same way as its Dutch sister fair, which has also been exported to New York. But the fair is keeping its feet on the ground and prefers to retain its national inspiration and festive atmosphere, offering quality works at accessible prices. "BRAFA remains a fair, not a museum," explained Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke.

See also: Masterpiece London is Cancelled by Art Basel's Parent Company

This year, design was very popular. Particularly admired was the 1971 red staircase by Frenchman Georges Ferran, made for Axe, in polyester foam, steel and lacquer, presented by the Dutch gallery Morentz. Other monumental works also made their mark, such as Sam Francis's huge painting Untitled from 1978, measuring almost 4m by 5m, presented by the Guy Pieters Gallery. A junction of six panels from 1981-4, by James Rosenquist, measuring 2m by 7m, was also spotted on the stand of the Galerie Jean-François Cazeau. The masterly relief by Damien De Roubaix at the Nosbaum Reding gallery was another unmissable highlight. Lovers of Modern art will be able to recognise the resonance of this work called Garage Days Re-Revisited (2019) with the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso in 1937.

For some time now, there has been a noticeable shift towards Modern and Contemporary Art, a category that works very well at BRAFA, as this year's excellent results show. The new participants in this field, in particular, performed well. The Parisian Dina Vierny, for example, with only two editions to its credit, dedicated a third of its stand to it, including a bronze sculpture by Aristide Maillol that belonged to Raoul Dufy, Eve with an Apple. A new participant, Samuelis Baumgarte, who dedicated his stand to Miró and Calder, sold a mobile by the latter, Twisted Tail, from 1968, for over 1 million euros.

Among the regulars, La Galerie de La Présidence had its best edition to date, with the sale of works by masters such as Signac, Vasarely and Bissière. Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke sold a beautiful Hans Hartung from 1982 and a bronze sculpture by Georges Minne from the late 1930s. According to him, there was a real craze for the artists of the Cobra movement.

On the 20th Century Art side, Maison Rapin sold a unique console, Orione Sideboard, by Roberto G. Rida, made in 2017 for 120,000 euros. Gokelaere & Robinson sold a resin table by Ado Chale from the 1970s and a series of bronze sculptures by Anton Prinner.

In the Contemporary art segment, Asian artists were particularly popular. The Boon Gallery sold a work by Korean artist CHUN Kwang Young from 2007 for around 120,000 euros. The Taménaga Gallery, based in France and Japan, sold several works by its Japanese artists such as Takehiko Sugawara and Miharu for 30,000 euros each.

Amongst the Western contemporary artists, Guy Pieters Gallery sold a work by Christo, The Mastaba (Project for the U.A.E, 1979), as well as a monumental sculpture, Three Hearts on the Rocks (2002), by Jim Dine, each at 750,000 euros. Finally, Samuel Van Hoegaerden's stand dedicated to the Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky was a great success.

See also: Oceanic Art: a Beginner’s Guide

Among the sales of African and Oceanic art objects, Serge Schoffel sold a 'ceremonial pottery' from the pre-colonial period to an English collector for several thousand euros. The latter was planning to offer the object to the museum in Kampala. Also at Schoffel, a large Nyamusa carved wooden totem pole immediately found a buyer for 25,000 euros.

On the first evening, the Claes gallery sold a bronze Edo panther from Benin, from the end of the 19th century, followed by ten other sales ranging from 12,000 to 40,000 euros, as well as seven photographs by the Belgian artist of Beninese origin Fabrice Monteiro.

There were also some fine sales in the Haute Epoque and Old Masters categories. A Renaissance marble tondo by the artist Domenico Gagini sold for €40,000 at Dei Bardi Art.

In the field of ancient art, Klaas Muller sold a painting by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Van Diest (The Hague, 1631-1673), entitled Zicht op Den Briel, at the Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam.

Good results were also achieved for silverware. The Bernard De Leye Gallery, specialised in this category, sold a Vienne rafraichissoir from 1782. Finally, the Pendulerie sold an important eight-light bronze chandelier attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire, Empire period, as well as a rare gilt bronze mantel clock with burnished gold, Paris, Empire-Restoration period, signed 'Breguet Neveu et Cie'.

A very successful 2023 edition, whose environmental efforts should not be forgotten. For example, all the carpets at the fair came from the Danish company Ege Carpets, which recycles ocean waste into textiles.

Find the latest news from the art market on Barnebys Magazine

After almost 70 editions, the BRAFA (Brussels Art Fair) was back this year, as per tradition. Despite numerous restrictions linked to Covid, both novel and seasoned collectors were present, more enthusiastic than ever to return to their usual routine.

The Dogon people of Mali live in one of West Africa's most spectacular slopes: the Bandiagara Escarpment, a row of cliffs that stretch 125 miles parallel to the Niger River. The Dogon seem to have come from the west bank of the river around 1490, initially fleeing from the Mossi people and taking refuge in the cliffs. According to oral tradition, the remoteness of the Escarpment was one of the main reasons the Dogon chose to settle there, allowing them to resist conquest first by Muslims and then by French invaders.

Their isolation has also meant that Dogon culture has remained some of the most untouched and authentic on the African continent. Their environment touches almost all aspects of Dogon culture – including visual art. A complex body of myths details the creation of nature and mankind's place within it. Precipitation is scarce, and the difficult terrain means that prayers for rain and healthy crops run most of Dogon rituals. It is in the context of these rituals that Dogon art operates. 

Dogon religious practices and material culture are steeped in animism. Dogon art is endowed with metaphysical powers, and it is created mainly for religious purposes: sacred objects to be placed in shrines or used in rituals. According to the Dogon vision of cosmogony, an entity called 'Amma' created the universe and all life. Dogon belief, however, is centred less on the creator of the universe than on the spirits of the ancestors, who are thought to be the intermediaries between human beings and the forces of the universe. 

See also: The 5 Most Famous Civilisations of Pre-Columbian Art

There are three main cult beliefs: the cult of 'Lebe', the oldest ancestor of Dogon mythology, invoked in prayer for healthy soil and fertile grounds; the cult of 'Binou', a totemic institution that venerates immortal ancestors, including the first being created by Amma, called 'Nommo'; and finally the cult of 'Awa', the Society of Masks, responsible for anything concerning the spirits of the deceased members of one's own family, and the only institution that is not kept as a secret. The Awa society performs masked dances for funerary rites, which are open to visitors a few times a year. 

Figurative sculptures are often dedicated to the founders and ancestors of Dogon lineages and placed on altars, where collective sacrifices are performed in secret rites. For the Binou rites dedicated to immortal ancestors, the cult often uses cylindrical and abstract sculptures, although human and animal iconography is sometimes featured. Since Dogon belief is essentially animist, many objects can be attributed supernatural powers – even the most mundane household items such as bowls and door knobs can reflect and materialise in some way Dogon cosmogony. 

Mythology thus pervades most aspects of Dogon life – from material culture to social relations and the organisation of villages. Yet most of it is inaccessible to outsiders, or forms too-complicated a fabric of belief to be decoded by those outside of the cults. What isn't limited to outsiders, however, are the masks publicly exhibited in rituals concerned with death, in rites that typically last six days.

Made of carved wood or knotted fibre, it is estimated that there are more than seventy types of masks, representing everything from humans, animals, objects, and even abstract concepts. These masks are what has captivated the interest of ethnographers and art historians, and popularised Dogon art all over the world. 

Research in the Dogon territory began in the 1930s, with a famous 1931 anthropological expedition led by French researcher Marcel Griaule, accompanied by Michel Leiris, a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. In 1935, a second expedition was undertaken to continue Griaule's study of the Dogon use of masks. In the following years, both authors published extensively on the Dogon people and their customs, being particularly captured by Dogon mythology and its expression in their visual art. Griaule wrote: “The smallest everyday object may reveal in its form or decoration a conscious reflection of a complex cosmogony”. Leiris too wrote of the Dogon country as "crowded too enchantingly with sanctuaries, ritual objects, sacred places of all kinds", and the men "tied too continually to a fabric of rites", making it impossible to give a complete account of the place.

Artistic exchanges with the Dogon people had already begun in the 15th century with Muslim traders and merchants, but it was in particular the 20th-century colonial expeditions by French ethnographers that disseminated Dogon culture, bringing back to Europe an influx of African and Dogon objects. And by the time Griaule and Leiris had come back to France, ethnographic objects were not just displayed as 'curiosities' in European museums, but had been re-evaluated as objects of art historical significance, with all the cultural narratives attached to them to captivate Western audiences.

For many Western artists, African art proved a life-long source of inspiration – and this was particularly evident with the art of the Dogon. Especially for the avant-garde artists in the School of Paris, the stylised rendering and emotional intensity of African sculpture, combined with the painting styles of post-Impressionist painters such as Cézanne and Gauguin, served as an entryway into modern art – allowing them to leave behind the naturalism that had characterised Western art since its inception. African artists had in fact been the first to abstract forms in many ways, working with malleable materials such as wood that allowed for sharp lines and ultra-faceted features. The supernatural powers attributed to sculpture, too, had made African art concerned not with reality and its loyal reproduction, but a carrier to higher meanings. This was a revolutionary concept – one that would influence much of modern art – and one that was especially embodied in Dogon sculpture.

Of particular importance was the Musée d'Ethnographie, built on Trocadero hill, Paris. The museum had been a space where many artists discovered what was at the time termed 'primitive' art. In the mid-1930s, after his trip to the Dogon, Michel Leiris had been given a post at the Trocadero, and continued studying and writing about African and Dogon art in surrealist publications, broadcasting Dogon culture throughout 20th-century Paris. 

Giacometti, Picasso, Brancusi, Modigliani

For someone like Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), a personal relationship with Leiris led to a lasting infatuation with Dogon art. It has often been noted how in Giacometti's exploration of surrealism and existentialism after the Second World War, the thinner, elongated anatomies of his sculptures were visionary symbols not only of the suffering of men, but also resembled the abstract and uncanny figures found in African art – especially that of the Dogon. In particular, Dogon sculptures known as Star Gazers, presenting elongated men with strikingly thin limbs looking towards the sky, are thought to have been a major inspiration for Giacometti. 

See also: Alberto Giacometti: The Unbearable Lightness

Pablo Picasso too had been significantly inspired by African art, and though he had acknowledged that visiting the Trocadero in Paris had changed him as an artist, later in his life he denied the importance of African art in his aesthetics. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, often seen as the very first painting which gave birth to Cubism, features three women on the left modelled on Iberian sculptures, and two women on the right modelled on ceremonial Dogon masks, which Picasso himself was a collector of. In his older years, the artist was keen to emphasise the Iberian influences for patriotic reasons, but it has been widely recognised that the abstract cubist shapes he is best known for were the result of several years spent studying African and Dogon art. 

See also: The 10 Most Expensive Sculptures Sold at Auction

Similar observations have been made about many other modernist artists, such as Constantin Brancusi, whose long, tubular shapes recall the abstract animals found in a lot of African tribal art; and Amedeo Modigliani, whose elongated faces closely resemble the Fang masks from Gabon, also in West Africa. 

Cultural and artistic exchanges between different cultures are nothing new to the history of art, but perhaps the impact that African and Dogon art has had on Western Modernism has not been fully recognised by its main beneficiaries. The visionary expressiveness of African and Dogon art, imbued as it is with infinite symbolisms, might be the common denominator among many of the most celebrated modernist artists. 

African art has long inspired Western modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, and Amedeo Modigliani – among many others. Dogon art, in particular, may have been the driving inspiration behind 20th-century movements such as Cubism. 

David Andersen: Collecting Vintage Norwegian Jewellery

Subscribe to our newsletter