Lot 39
  • 39

Georg Jensen

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • The Hepburn Wedding Goblet
  • Georg Jensen maker's mark, pattern number: 149
  • silver
  • 12.5cm., 4⅞ in. high ; 214.3gr.; 6oz. 16dwt.
  • Made between 1925-1932.
Cosmos pattern, reverse later inscribed 'Vivien Leigh Laurence Olivier 1940 from Katharine Hepburn' 

Literature

Probably, Notley Abbey Inventory, April 1948, p. 39, silver / dining room, 'A Danish hammered wide top cup on scroll supports and circular base 5½ high [sic]'
(The Vivien Leigh Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, THM/433/6/1).

Condition

overall good condition despite minute surface scratches.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

On 31 August 1940, Vivien and Larry were married at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, in a ceremony attended only by their hosts, Ronald and Benita Colman and witnesses, Katharine Hepburn and Garson Kanin. Despite being regularly in competition for roles, especially for Gone with the Wind, Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) and Vivien were close friends. As Katharine said: 'What to say... Vivien, dear Vivien, exquisite actress, thoughtful, fearless, gracious and enormously kind... a lovely little pink cloud floating through the lives of all her friends, hovering over the setting sun, and thinking of everyone but herself.'

George Kanin, who was trying to make his name as a movie producer, shared Vivien and Larry's Beverly Hills home at 9560 Cedar Brook Drive, ostensibly to help with the rent. He was a good friend and Larry asked him to be best man. Kanin was dating Katherine Hepburn and it was he who introduced her to Vivien and brought about her role as a 'snappy maid of honour' for the bride to be (Garson Kanin, Tracy & Hepburn, New York, 1971, p. 75). Kanin was also in the process of trying to persuade Hepurn to star in his project, a picture about the wife of President Ulysses Grant.

Interestingly, Katharine Hepburn had received a Georg Jensen silver kettle on the occasion of her own wedding in 1928, see The Katherine Hepburn Collection, Sotheby's New York, 10 and 11 June 2004, lot 15.