number of small jewellery pieces, sometimes decorated with enamel. The designs proved popular with the galleries clientele and fortuitously caught the eye of Anders Holstrup-Pedersen, the then-head of the jewellery department at Georg Jensen.
At the close of the Second World War Henning returned to his home country and confident in his newly found craft skills set out to see what opportunities Georg Jensen had to offer him. Without Holstrup-Pedersen's constant support and belief in young Henning and his bold new style, both Koppel as well as the Georg Jensen Silversmithy probably would not have enjoyed the success they have. With a shortage of talent due to the war efforts, Anders Holstrup-Pedersen was anxious to find new artists, and his own willingness to try new styles gave Koppel the chance he needed.
Henning's first piece created for the Georg Jensen was the Amoeba bracelet with each link its own shape and design, both abstract yet incredibly organic it was an instant hit with the design conscious clientele Jensen boasted. Koppel's design flair and fresh new style secured his position with Georg Jensen on a permanent basis, however he was initially assigned a position in the hollow ware department rather than the jewellery workshops. Be it luck or judgement on the part of Georg Jensen, the placement of Henning in the hollow ware studio was to prove integral for the company’s Post War success.
Here his earlier training as a sculptor would prove vital in the creation of his new designs. His first piece of hollow ware would be a three armed candelabra with a wild and flowing organic shape that broke ties with the Art Nouveau traditions of the company. A startling departure from the pre-war florid Georg Jensen style this piece grabbed the attention of the design
conscious critics and firmly placed Jensen on a new path of creation and discovery.
Often rendering his works in ink, retracing line over line, Henning's designs would often push the limits of the silver chasers and apprentices who worked with him, as well as the limitation of the materials themselves. Following the candelabra was a series of water pitchers. His ultimate desire was to create the perfect fluid form, elegant, slender and far removed from anything the workers had every created before. The first was affectionately called ‘The African Girl’ pitcher and given a model number of 978. This vessel would prove as daunting as it was beautiful. Although Henning’s designs are officially named by their number, this wouldn't be the only one to be given an unconventional name. As time would go on, the worker would name one of his less than successful bowls, ‘Hip Injury’ or, ‘Female Corpse In a Bathtub’, making small jests at how difficult it was to render his shapes. Many of his designs were ahead of their time with a number of challenging ideas that won many design awards but garnered little commercial success. It wasn't until 1952 with design number 992, or ‘The Pregnant Duck’ that he would find his success and his ‘perfect pitcher’
Henning was a perfectionist when it came to his designs, and would ensure that each and every piece was completed to the highest standards. Even the most imperceptible flaws in his finished pieces would be returned to the workshop to be corrected. Not simply satisfied with functional pieces he strived to create usable pieces of art, once again breaking ties with the functionalism of the time. His fish platter with lid was perfectly fitted so there might be no gap along the lip, a barely perceptible seam that would be found again in the tiny pillboxes he created following its success.
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