Industrially Yours... A Silversmith At Work

Jens Hansen, a Dane who came to New Zealand 12 years ago with his family, is giving a modern twist to one of the most ancient of skilled crafts. Jens is a silversmith, and at his workshop in Alton Street, he fashions from solid silver, all manner of objects, from trophies such as-that shown above, to eating utensils like the solid silver salad servers (below) and jewellery like the pieces exhibited at left. Jens is a craftsman with an artistic flair and most of his work reflects his search for the unusually beautiful. When he first arrived in Auckland he learned the jewellery trade, but later became more interested in jewellery designing. To further his knowledge of this facet of the craft, he returned to Denmark, studied at the School of Applied Art, Copenhagen, and worked there and in other European cities, before returning to New Zealand with extensive knowledge of the arts of jewellery making and silversmithing. More recently he set up his business in Nelson and is now selling his work all over New Zealand. We picture him at work (top left) melding sections of a crucifix he has been commissioned to make.

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We will follow the making of this crucifix through the finishing stages. The metal is polished to a high degree (top left), and laid out on its block of mahogany before being mounted (above). Jens also specialises in the repairing and restoration of antique silver. Here, at left, he is working on one of a pair of Georgian candelabra. One of the more unusual jobs he undertook recently was the making of the clock (below). This will hang in the foyer of the new Broadcasting House. Holding the clock in the position it will occupy is Nelson N.Z.B.C, manager, Mr Seth Harris. The metal work on this clock is brass.

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