BENT KNUDSEN (1924-1996)

Bent Knudsen, a Danish silversmith born in 1924, was trained at C. M. Cohr’s in Fredericia, Denmark. During the early part of his career, he also worked for several prominent silversmiths in Copenhagen.

Starting in 1946, Knudsen joined Hans Hansen’s smithy in Kolding, where he remained for the next ten years, only taking a short break to work in Norway in the early 1950s. In 1950, he married Anni, who was also interested in arts and crafts. Together, they made Christmas decorations that brought them recognition and were sold in design shops in Copenhagen and exported to the United States and Japan. In 1956, Knudsen and Anni opened their own shop in Søndergade. During this time, Knudsen returned to making silverwork, focusing on jewelry in geometric shapes with semiprecious stones.

Ginger Moro, in her book European Designer Jewelry, describes the couple’s work as “unfailingly elegant and wearable.” The work of Anni and Bent Knudsen has been exhibited at the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts, Copenhagen; the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Dortmund, in Schloss Cappenberg; and the Museum at Koldinghus.

Visit our exhibition page for “MEDITATIONS ON MODERNISM: Thirty Years of Jewelry Design by Jacqueline Rabun, 1990–2022 and Selections from Notable Post-WWII Nordic Jewelry” to learn more about the innovative and exquisite Nordic jewelry in our collection.