Danish Anton Michelsen ‘Jul’ or Christmas Spoon in Gilded Sterling Silver with Enamel, ‘Altar Piece’ designed by Olaf Stæhr-Nielsen, 1934

Gold-plated .925 silver spoon made by Anton Michelsen with an enamelled nativity scene, designed designed by Olaf Stæhr-Nielsen. Marked Jul [Christmas] 1934, A. Michelsen. Copenhagen Sterling Denmark with the R registered trademark symbol.

The spoon is in very good condition with no scratches and minimal loss to the gilding.

The tradition of the Danish Christmas spoon and fork began in 1910 with the firm Anton Michelsen. A trained goldsmith, Michelsen opened his shop in Copenhagen in 1841 and immediately caught the attention of the Royal Court, becoming Jeweller to the Royal Court in 1848. He was the only Danish goldsmith represented at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Anton’s son Carl Michelsen continued the firm after his father’s death in 1877. He introduced the first Christmas spoon and fork in 1910, likely influenced by the success of the Bing & Grondahl and Royal Copenhagen Christmas (Jul) plates. The set was a great success and started a new yearly Christmas tradition, the limited edition only made in the year of production after which the tools are destroyed.

Each year, a new artist was selected to design the Jul motif. Originally designers were mainly painters but as success continued, architects and jewellers joined as designers. The firm would select an emerging young artist who was given decision-making over design, colour and shape within the confines of the required form. Because of this, each year’s design varied greatly and by 1925 enamelled decoration appeared almost every year. In 2003 Georg Jensen took over production of the Christmas spoon and fork and they continued to produce them until the final year of production in 2009, marking 100 years of production.