Art Jewelry
Art Jewelry |
Fahrncr is one of the most desirable names in European eostume jewelry. The German company is known for its stunning Art Deco work, but it produced pieces in many other design styles.
Art Jewelry |
Art Jewelry |
Born in 1859, young Theodor Fahrner was a talented
draftsman and designer who specialized in steel engraving at Pforzheim Art
Academy.
Innovative as well as highly creative, this pioneering industrialist joined the aesthetic reform movement known as Jugendstil, the German equivalent of Art Nouveau, and commissioned artists to create "modern" jewelry as the stock he had inherited from his father diminished.
His intention was to raise the artistic quality of industrially or part-industrially made pieces to the level of art jewelry. Fahrner gave his designers great artistic freedom, as is revealed by the huge range of styles and techniques seen in the company's output.
His ground-breaking use of the best artists to design mass-produced pieces w as welcomed within the famed artists' community of Darmstadt, which provided many of the company's enthusiastic designers.
Innovative as well as highly creative, this pioneering industrialist joined the aesthetic reform movement known as Jugendstil, the German equivalent of Art Nouveau, and commissioned artists to create "modern" jewelry as the stock he had inherited from his father diminished.
His intention was to raise the artistic quality of industrially or part-industrially made pieces to the level of art jewelry. Fahrner gave his designers great artistic freedom, as is revealed by the huge range of styles and techniques seen in the company's output.
Art Jewelry |
His ground-breaking use of the best artists to design mass-produced pieces w as welcomed within the famed artists' community of Darmstadt, which provided many of the company's enthusiastic designers.
In 1900, the company won a
silver medal at the Paris World's Fair for its
Kiinstlerschmurk (artists' jewelry). This international recognition
helped establish the company as the main manufacturer of Jugendstil
artifacts in Germany.
The "TF" trademark was
introduced in 1901, and Fahrner began to export to England through Murrle,
Bennet is: Co., an Anglo-German agency with offices in both countries.
Art Jewelry |
Fahrner's work for Murrle, Bennet & Co. was often
abstract, geometric, or organic, featuring elements such as stylized plants or
birds. Pieces were marked with both companies' stamps.
Art Jewelry |
A selection of highly influential designers worked for the firm, including Georg Kleeman, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Franz Bocrcs, Rudolf Bosselt, Max Joseph Gradl, Hermann Haussler, Patriz Hubcr, Ferdinand Moraw e, and others. Identifying the work of each specific designer can be problematic, however, because of the wide range of objects made and the broad selection of materials with which they worked. In addition, all archived information was lost when the Fahrner factory w as bombed in 1945.
Art Jewelry
When Theodor Fahrner died in 1919, the company was sold to
Gustav Braendle and renamed Gustav Bracndle-Theodor Fahrner Nachfolger (German
for "successors"), using the "Fahrner Schmuck" trademark.
In 1922, Braendle's new collections featured enamel and
marcasite jew elry, combined with semi-precious stones. The enameling, done
in-house and often with a matte finish, gave a distinctive edge to the work.
The company's fabulous Art Deco pieces brought it much acclaim.
The powerful geometric designs encapsulated the essence of the Jazz Age and the Art Deco movement, exemplified by the geometric creations of designers such as Viennese painter
Anton Kling. These pieces often employed more expensive materials, typically
marcasite, semi-precious stones, coral, and pearls, which lead to the high
prices Fahrncr "art jewelry" commands today. Black enamel and green
agate, combined with coral and onyx, became signature colors for Fahrncr and
for the Art Deco period.
Art Jewelry |
The powerful geometric designs encapsulated the essence of the Jazz Age and the Art Deco movement, exemplified by the
Braendle
developed and launched Fahrner's filigree jewelry range in 1932, which became a
hallmark of the company.
Art Jewelry |
Unfortunately, German politics had an impact on the
company's design freedom. More sumptuous pieces were exported to England and
the United States, while the home market w as encouraged to seek plainer
styles. In 1933, the sample design catalogues featured sketches for swastika
designs. Wartime production was reduced and labor was transferred to technical
products.
Art Jewelry |
Art Jewelry
Fahrner's
pieces arc well marked, either "TF" or "TF Germany" or
"TF ORIGINAL." There are unmarked pieces on the market; however, the
lack of mark will reduce the value of a piece by as much as 75 per cent. Pieces
made for Murrle, Bennet & Co have both "TF" and "MBC"
marks. Part2 theodor
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