Silversmith Hans Hansen (1884-1940) opened a workshop in Kolding, Denmark, in around 1906 for the production of hollowware and flatware. In the early 1930s, the firm also began to produce jewellery, including a collection designed by Hansen’s son, Karl Gustav Hansen (1914-2002), in 1932. Karl Gustav had started as an apprentice silversmith at the age of sixteen and in 1934 he was awarded a silver medal, the highest prize in the Danish apprenticeship system, for his test piece. He managed the firm’s shop in Copenhagen.

Following Hans Hansen’s death in 1940, Karl Gustav took over the business, which traded as Hans Hansen Sølvsmedje A/S, and the firm’s reputation as a producer of jewellery and cutlery grew. Karl Gustav collaborated with a number of artists, including Lynn Chadwick, Kenneth Armitage and Giacomo Manzù, inviting them to experiment with using silver for small sculptures.

In November 1976, he visited Henry Moore at his home and studios in Perry Green. Moore agreed to the firm experimenting with casting a few of his small works. Hansen went on to produce silver editions of Butterfly 1976 (LH 702); Reclining Figure: Wedge Base 1977 (LH 732); and Seated Figure: Thin Head 1980 (LH 917) in 1981.

For more information, see:
https://www.jensensilver.com/karl-gustav-hansen
https://www.jensensilver.com/biography-hans-hansen
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG71180