In addition to having invented an alloy that drastically reduced the foundry production costs associated with making bronze, copper and brass, Danish designer and silversmith Just Andersen created sculptural furnishings, accessories and decor that are widely coveted and collectible today. Disko, an alloy made of lead, tin and antimony, shares characteristics with brass, and many of Andersen’s antique candle holders, vases and vessels and other decorative objects — produced in Art Nouveau, Scandinavian neoclassical and Art Deco styles — contain this material.
Growing up in Greenland, Andersen was originally a sculptor and painter. He moved to Copenhagen and attended the Royal Academy of Art and the School of Danish Crafts. At the latter, he studied under Jens Møller Jensen.
Andersen trained in silversmithing in Copenhagen with Mogens Ballin and with the revered Danish silver firm Peter Hertz. Working in Ballin’s workshop after it had changed hands when the founder’s wife fell ill during the early 1900s, Andersen sharpened and refined his skills. He completed unfinished projects of Ballin’s when he passed away in 1914, sometimes partnering with Jean Rene Gauguin in order to do so. Andersen opened Just Andersen Pewter in 1918, where he produced objects in silver and gold but also in pewter, bronze and his alloy, disko, which he named after Greenland’s Disko Bay.
Andersen created designs for Georg Jensen, Peter Hertz, A. Michelsen and other manufacturers. He opened showrooms in several cities including Berlin and Los Angeles. Andersen’s work is held in the collections of museums all over the world.
Find antique Just Andersen decorative objects, lighting and ceramics on 1stDibs.
Just Andersen Figurine of Naked Boy Made of Disco Metal, Denmark 1940s
By Just Andersen
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Original figurine designed by Danish artist and sculptor Just Andersen (1884-1943) featuring a naked boy sitting on a marble plate. This particular figurine was first launched in 194...
Marble, Metal
Just Andersen Figurine of a Young Man with Fish of Disco Metal, Denmark 1940s
By Just Andersen
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Original figurine designed by Danish artist and sculptor Just Andersen (1884-1943) featuring a young man with fish. It's made in Denmark in the 1940s-1950s of Just Andersen´s own cre...
Metal
Just Andersen Figurine of Boy on Large Fish Made of Disco Metal, Denmark 1940s
By Just Andersen
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Original figurine designed by Danish artist and sculptor Just Andersen (1884-1943) featuring a young boy on a large fish, surrounded by smaller fish and sea weed. It's made in Denmar...
Metal
Leda and the Swan Bronze Figurine by Danish Kai Nielsen made at L. Rasmussen
By Kai Nielsen
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Leda with the Swan bronze figurine by Danish artist and sculptor Kai Nielsen (1882-1924). The figurine has model no. 42 and is made circa 1940s or 1950s by bronze foundry L. Rasmusse...
Bronze
Johannes Hedegaard for Royal Copenhagen Figurine "Martha" Rare Version 21424
By Royal Copenhagen, Johannes Hedegaard
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Figurine of a young woman washing clothes - called "Martha" - by Danish sculptor Johannes Hedegaard (1915-1999) produced at Royal Copenhagen. It´s a rare version with beige clothes instead of the more commonly seen version with turquoise glaze. The naked parts of the body show the warm terracotta color and make the figurine quite sensual. The figurine was designed ca 1940s and it was most likely made around 1960s. Johannes Hedegaard is famous for his graceful busts of young, most often half naked women. His model was reportedly his own wife Birthe Hedegaard. He trained as a sculptor at Royal Copenhagen from 1930 to 1935 and later he went to the Sculpture School at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen (Kunstakademiets Billedhuggerskole). His teachers here were Einar Utzon-Frank (1939) and Johannes Bjerg...
Ceramic
Huge L. Hjorth Horse Figurine by Gertrud Kudielka Danish Midcentury Ceramic
By Lauritz Adolph Hjorth, Gertrud Kudielka
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
Huge stoneware figurine/sculpture of a young lively horse no. 535 designed by Gertrud Kudielka (1896-1984) and manufactured by L. Hjorth ceramic workshop on the island Bornholm, Denm...
Ceramic
1940's Sitting Faun by Elena Borch made of Disco Metal by Just Andersen A/S
By Just Andersen
Located in Knebel, DK
1940's Sitting Faun by Elena Borch made of Disco Metal by Just Andersen A/S The sitting faun is in good vintage condition and marked with Just. Andersens triangle mark. Just Ander...
Metal
Diskometal Bust of Boy by Just Andersen, 1930s, Denmark
By Just Andersen
Located in Værløse, DK
Disko metal bust of a seated boy designed by Just Andersen in the late 1930s. * Disko metal sculpture depicting a seated boy * Designer: Just Andersen * Model: D2396 * Year: 1939 * ...
Metal
Bronze Sculpture Little Boy, 1910
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Quiet, introspective, and deeply human, this bronze sculpture stands as one of the most touching expressions of early modernist art. Created in Paris in 1910, this work portrays a yo...
Bronze
19th Century Seated little Boy/Child, solid Bronze Sculpture/Figure
Located in Berlin, DE
19th Century Seated little Boy/Child, solid Bronze Sculpture/Figure Germany - solid Bronze Sculpture. The condition can be seen in the pictures.
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Bronze Sculpture with Marble Base of a Sitting Boy
Located in North Miami, FL
Early 20th century french bronze sculpture with marble base of a sitting boy By: unknown Material: copper, bronze, metal, ...
Marble, Metal, Bronze, Copper
Fountain in Bronze. "Crying Boy" 20th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
The figure has a great expressiveness, the child's face reflects panic and anguish, and is in foreshortening as if wanting to move away from the animal. The piece is held on a circul...
Marble, Bronze
