THE COLLECTION
Frederik Ernst collected from a very young age. His own collection story starts with a pewter mug he acquired at the age of ten.
"I have experienced a collector's thousand joys and very, very few sorrows. The latter are always related to things you haven't bought. Every night before I go to bed, I wander through all my living rooms. Stopping here and there, picking up an item, looking at it for a long time ... and then I am filled with the same inexplicable joy as when I found this very thing years ago, perhaps in a dusty basement in Paris, and brought it home in triumph. All my life I have had these joys. That's why I'm a happy man... thanks to a little tin mug for four crowns!"
He acquired objects for his collection while traveling in Denmark and abroad, at auctions and from antique dealers. The collection consists of almost 10,000 pieces, of which more than 1,500 can be seen in the manufacturer's apartment.
In 1963, Frederik Ernst opened the doors to the public to the crowning glory: The Hall, in the former factory building, where you could see beautifully set tables with porcelain, silver cutlery and exquisite glassware.
His collection consisted mainly of silver, porcelain, earthenware, glass, pewter, furniture and paintings from Germany, Denmark, England and Italy, but also from Turkey and Myanmar.
Frederik Ernst wanted to secure the collection for posterity and thus helped establish the Ernst Family Collections Foundation, which was founded in January 1975.
Frederik Ernst wanted to secure the collection for posterity and thus helped establish the Ernst Family Collections Foundation, which was founded in January 1975.
His collection consisted mainly of silver, porcelain, earthenware, glass, pewter, furniture and paintings from Germany, Denmark, England and Italy, but also from Turkey and Myanmar.
Frederik Ernst wanted to secure the collection for posterity and thus helped establish the Ernst Family Collections Foundation, which was founded in January 1975.
Frederik Ernst wanted to secure the collection for posterity and thus helped establish the Ernst Family Collections Foundation, which was founded in January 1975.
"As you can see, there is no real line in the collection. I only look for what is old, beautiful and preferably distinctive - and preferably rare, of course!"
