Much sought after by serious collectors, Danish porcelain has a unique look and is delightfully distinctive from German and other European models. The dog models exhibit expressions that are serious and still somehow playfyul, poses are classical yet somewhat unusual; Glazes are thick and rich. The colors reflect the Art Nouveau palette: pinks, pale creams, greys and lavenders.
There were 3 important factories that have significantly contributed to the sought after collections of today: Dahl Jensen (1925-1984), Royal Copenhagen (1775-present) and Bing & Grondahl (1853 until merged with Royal Copenhagen in 1987).
There were also 3 premier animal sculptors: Dahl Jensen (1874-1960) who worked for B&G before opening his own factory in 1925, Lauritz Jensen (1859-1935) and Knud Khyn (1880-1969) who created masterworks for Royal Copenhagen. Other artists of note artists were Knud Moller, designing for Royal Copenhagen in the early 1900s and Sophus Jensen-Kromand, who worked for B&G from 1910-47.
With the exception of Royal Copenhagen few pieces were signed by the artists. Most have green hallmarks with initials and fractional numbers in green or blue. These are key to dating these pieces. There are several easily obtainable books about these factories for those interested in the dates of production of the models in their collections. “Seconds,” or pieces which were not deemed first quality have a scratch through the mark on the base. Often though, the quality is indistinguishable from those considered best.