Christian Fjerdingstad

 

Jewelry designer and silver artisan, Christian Fjerdingstad (1891-1968), born in the Danish island of Christians. All of his life he was passionate about flora, fauna and natural materials and was a recognized ornithologist. In 1912 he moved to Skagen, in the north of Denmark, where he created his first silver works and jewelry. These promising starts were interrupted by the war. He was a volunteer in the Foreign Legion, first foreign regiment, then to the ground troops, he was gravely wounded by a bullet to his left knee in 1915. The Reform Commission of Poitiers awarded him a military medal in 1916, and then Knight of the Legion of Honor. In 1918, he settled permanently in France, near Paris, and resumed his work as a jewelry designer and silversmith. As of 1925, Fjerdingstad worked as design manager for Christofle House, under the name of "Etain de Carville". He is one of the founders of the Art Deco style. His passion for birding and botany brought a naturalistic vein to his work, the organic and fluid style was a result of his technique, which exploited the qualities of metal, primarily through hammer work.