Focus on: Georg Jensen’s ‘HK’ pitcher

[Advertisement – this post references a gifted item and a press trip, but all words and opinions are my own]

Today I’m continuing my series exploring the history behind iconic pieces with a look at an item that’s often considered a landmark of Danish design: Henning Koppel’s elegant ‘HK’ pitcher, created for Georg Jensen back in 1952 and still in production 67 years later.

One of Denmark’s most renowned 20th-century designers, Koppel was born in 1918 and originally trained in sculpture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Like many Danish Jews he fled to Sweden during the Second World War, where he earned a living from producing watercolour drawings and jewellery. It was while selling his work to a small Stockholm shop that he had a chance encounter with Anders Hostrup-Pedersen, the new director of Georg Jensen. Impressed by Koppel’s artistry, Hostrup-Pedersen asked to meet with him again after his return to Copenhagen in 1946, resulting in a partnership that would last until Koppel’s death in 1981.

Koppel produced numerous hollowware, flatware, jewellery and cutlery designs for Georg Jensen over the years, but the ‘HK’ pitcher is one of the most famous and instantly recognisable. Nicknamed the ‘pregnant duck’ because of its curvaceous form and exaggerated beak-like lip, it’s made from two identical pieces of steel, which are cut and shaped onto a mould before being soldered together to produce the finished piece. Like much of Koppel’s work, it was inspired by the organic shapes found in nature and is a wonderful balance of form and function.

I was lucky enough to find out more about the pitcher and Koppel’s approach to design during a visit to his seaside home and Georg Jensen’s Copenhagen HQ last September. There, I saw some of his original sketches and prototypes, and learnt how the flowing forms often posed challenges for the company’s smithies, who had to develop groundbreaking new processes in response. Koppel was even known to destroy designs whose manufacture didn’t live up to his high standards, but many of his drawings were preserved in Georg Jensen’s archives and improvements in techniques mean they have since been put into full production.

I was also given an ‘HK’ pitcher of my own to take home, and it’s proven to be an extremely versatile piece. Sometimes I use it as a jug for water or wine, and sometimes as a vase for flowers or dried grasses. The sculptural shape means it even looks wonderful on its on own on a mantelpiece or sideboard, and I love the way the mirror-polished surface casts striking reflections. It truly is as useful as it is beautiful, and it’s easy to see why it has become a much-loved item in homes across the world.

The ‘HK’ pitcher is available from Georg Jensen’s online shop and comes in three sizes – 0.75L (£195 / €225), 1.2L (£225 / €269) and 1.9L (£295 / €355). You can see all of Koppel’s designs for Georg Jensen here.

Image four via Georg Jensen; all other photography by Abi Dare