A Celebration of Silver

“Like one’s reputation, sterling silver requires vigilance, lest they both tarnish and lose their luster,” writes Murray Moss in the new monograph “Georg Jensen: Reflections” (Rizzoli New York, $85). Mr. Moss, the design curator and consultant, leaves behind the well-trod path of history and instead explores what makes people want to care for the 110-year-old Danish company’s wares.

These range from the intricate nature-inspired forms of Jensen’s own designs to the pop provocation of Verner Panton’s “crumpled” 1988 dish. Describing jewelry by the midcentury designer Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, Mr. Moss writes, “Ever so thin, subtle, slithery and sensuous, the silver looked light and fresh, like a blade of grass or a piece of string.”