This article was written by Ester Gross and published in Skånska Dagbladet. Translated by Fern Scott, 2024.
Wiwen Nilsson in Lund is a silversmith of significant international standing. For many years, and from a very early stage, he has been a great inspiration to silversmiths both at home and abroad.
His creations are characterised by simple and clean lines that express warmth and personal emotions in his artistic work. Throughout his career, Mr Nilsson has been ahead of his time in terms of models and ideas. At the moment he has developed something quite revolutionary in silversmithing. His workshop produces “jewellery with depth". Silver and gold plates are forged together to form a larger unit that, together with other materials, gives these modern pieces of jewellery a special shine. Curiously, Wiwen Nilsson's name is better known abroad than at home.
Many exhibitions have shown what Wiwen Nilsson has created over the years. What has been surprising is not so much the modern lines and shapes that keep popping up, but rather the wide range of applications. The purest of lines that have been assembled to create an indescribable beauty.
The man behind it all is Wiwen Nilsson. He was born in Copenhagen in 1897. Both his father and grandfather were silversmiths, so what could be more natural than for Wiwen to follow in their footsteps. Mr Nilsson started as an apprentice to his father at the age of 14. After a few years, Wiwen obtained his Journeyman certificate and took it out into the world to learn the great knowledge of the craft. Today, Wiwen Nilsson's objects and jewellery are known all over the continent, but it is probably only here in Sweden that people have been relatively modest about his artistic and technical achievements.
Nilsson's grandfather started on a small scale. He opened his first store in what is now Gleerupska Huset. There, the store consisted of a store window, inside there were two or three pieces. That was all. The customer entered the "front room" to negotiate the price in a rocking chair, the modern furniture of the time, while drinking a glass of port wine or liquor. It was "the good old days, the year was 1848".
TRIPS ABROAD
Wiwen's first destination was Germany. He trained at the Zeichenakademie (The National Drawing Academy) in the goldsmith town of Hanau am Main. There he was trained in sculpture, painting and arts and crafts. Afterwards, Wiwen went home to show off what he had learned. He was already influenced by the simple, clean lines that are now recognisable throughout his work, but this was not well received at the time. People laughed at Wiwen and thought that this was not the way silver was supposed to look. But Wiwen was stubborn and continued to develop his techniques. Many journeys followed. During a trip to Paris he met another man from Lund, Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. What Wiwen expressed in silver, G A-Nilsson created on the palette. They became close friends and supported each other when the world around them refused to understand their art. Then the exhibitions began all around the world.
SWEDEN – ADVERTISING
An exhibition that broke all previous records, was the one in New York at the end of the Second World War. It was a joint exhibition with Milles and the old Orrefors Gallery. The Swedes promoted their country and the objects were so well received that most of them were sold.
DIPLOMAS
A look around Wiwen Nilsson's workshop today reveals that the production has reached its absolute peak. There are diplomas from all over the world, as well as prizes for exquisite art. The creations that Wiwen Nilsson made in the thirties are still there, in all kinds of materials. Let us follow him around the premises and see how Wiwen’s ideas are transformed into silver jewellery and silverware, that are anything but "heavy".
DIFFERENT PROCESSES
There are working machines from the Middle Ages that are still in use - including the drawbench. It is used to pull out wires of the desired thickness. Today, one can find the same machine in large mechanical workshops, albeit slightly modernised, but the idea is the same.
The silver being used has to be of a specific density in order to be competitive on the international market. It consists of 935/1000 parts sterling silver. The usual practice in Sweden is to use a lower density. There are many different kinds of workshops at Mr Nilsson’s. There is a grinding workshop, a cleaning workshop, a polishing workshop, etc. There is a constant mix of modern and traditional methods. Take the grinding workshop, for example. Several men sit there and grind away all the traces from the various tools that have been used on a particular piece of jewellery. The men collect all the waste in a wooden box and melt it down again. Absolutely pure silver is used at all times and nothing is wasted. The jewellery is given a final polish with prepared coal from Germany. The silver being polished off ends up in a pot of water. As it oxidises, the water turns black because of the silver. The big pot is therefore called the 'Black Sea'.
NEW METHOD
Another room is equipped for engraving and cutting out small patterns on brooches, cutlery and the like. Here, a new method was introduced making jewellery with depth, which is completely revolutionary in silversmithing. The method is based on forging small sheets of silver or gold into a large unit. To further enhance the depth of the jewellery, the silver is alloyed with different materials to create varying types of lustre.
Functionalism is evident in the various objects, such as the church jug, which is made out of a single piece. A masterpiece in silver. Or take the great innovation in church silver: the ciborium with a wafer box on a plate. Here the cuppa for the communion wine is surrounded by a tray for the wafers. This is the actual solution for the communion wine. The priest simply dips the wafers in the wine and people never have to come into contact with the communion chalice. The whole thing is so new that the Church of Sweden has not yet had time to approve it. The fact that two hospitals have already bought these shows that serious thought is being given to its introduction. Church objects are Wiwen Nilsson's speciality. Wiwen Nilsson has sold communion silver to more than 140 churches in the country. But there are also buyers from abroad. Iceland, for example, has ordered large candlesticks for its cathedral.
CUTLERY AND PAINTINGS IN SILVER
Another speciality is silverware. The various parts are forged by hand from a single piece. The popularity is reflected in the orders, currently for a whole year ahead.
In his private life, this energetic man has made reliefs in silver on a background of black wood. As religion is close to Wiwen Nilsson's heart, many of the motifs have a religious meaning. Most of the reliefs are sold to good friends. King Gustav Adolf, the conductor Dean Dixon and the famous Sten Broman all own one. Sculptures in various materials are also W. Nilsson's "foster children". One of these sculptures, which we can all enjoy, is in the foyer of Malmö City Theatre. He is a remarkable man, Wiwen Nilsson.
He is a forerunner of so many different eras, and yet - or perhaps because of this - the idea is so simple. Someone said during the Second World War that Wiwen Nilsson is not provincial, but about to conquer three continents.
