WOLFERS, Philippe

Besides his activities as a jeweller, Wolfers worked as a designer of glassware, principally for Belgium’s leading glass manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert in Seraing-sur-Meuse. The Val-Saint-Lambert works occupied the site of an old Cistercian abbey, and with a daily output of around 160.000 units ranked among the biggest producers in Europe. Most of these were crystal articles, but there were also Art Nouveau flashed-glass products. Wolfers had his glasswork finished by gem cutters in his own workshop, each piece is unique.

The Cr�puscule vase was executed in the Cristalleries Val-Saint-Lambert. Its body of the glass is embraced by a bat, the creature of twilight, half-mammal, half-bird, with an almost human countenance, a synonym for the vampire. The bat plays an outstanding role in Art Nouveau. The bizarre winged creature is perpetuated in all conceivable materials.

Wolfers created a distinctive style of interior decoration with the Gioconda ensemble for the Palais de la Belgique in the Exposition Universelle des Arts D�coratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris (1925). The d�cor, furniture, carpets, table linen, silver and glass were all based on the theme of contrasting polygons, resulting in a series of stepped triangles.

In 1897, the Colonial Exposition was organized in Tervuren to promote the Congo, a territory acquired by Leopold II. The first room, the Hall of Honour, revealed the artistic value of ivory, a colonial product par excellence. “The Caress of the Swan” by Philippe Wolfers impressed viewers with its monumentality.

Originally designed as an enormous flower vase, it incorporates a complete tusk, which the jeweller himself picked out in the warehouses of the port of Antwerp. The work manifests true technical prowess in its perfect intertwining of bronze and ivory, and the swan’s elegant movement makes this a magnificent decorative piece. The bronze eel above the tusk adorned with rushes seems to be sliding ineluctably toward the beak of the bird. This kind of somewhat morbid symbolism characterizes all of Philippe Wolfers’s production in this period.

The work is inseparable from the Exposition Universelle (World Fair) organized in Brussels in 1897. On this occasion, a colonial section was inaugurated in Tervuren, aimed at counteracting negative criticisms of Belgium’s colonial policy and to present products imported from the Congo and point out the benefits of this trade.

Philippe Wolfers was commissioned to create a prestigious gift for the occasion: a document-holder in Congolese ivory supported by two figurines, one white and the other black, supposed to evoke the two peoples who would share the Belgian part of the “African Coral Coast”. The artist adapted the commission by choosing an allegorical representation: a swan to represent civilization and a dragon to symbolize barbarism. The two animals are fighting to protect a lily, a symbol of purity and enlightenment. In this work, Wolfers was merely reflecting the perception of the period regarding the colony and the civilizing influence of Belgium.

Wolfers mastered to perfection the nature of the various materials he used, excelling equally as a silversmith and a sculptor. He was the only person to ensure that the elephant tusks were used as they were or sectioned in such a way that their origin remained identifiable. Ivory is an extremely fragile material sensitive to changes in the climate, so setting it in metal was a most delicate operation. The ivory is not attached to the metal at all, enabling it to develop without splitting.

The allegory and framework of the document-holder are in silver. Wolfers employed the sheen of the silver for the swan representing white man, whilst he gave the dragon a dark patina that enhanced the sculptural effect. Unfortunately, this patina has almost entirely disappeared.

On the parchment, placed in the document-holder, was a map of the Congo and a text describing the steps in the battle of civilization against barbarism: the creation of the independent state of the Congo, a medical service, plantations and a postal service. Together with the planned construction of a railway, all of these things would contribute to the development of the local people. The document-holder also contained two scrolls containing the names of those who had contributed financially to the realization of this masterpiece.

This object can be worn as a brooch or on a chain.

Philippe Wolfers made rarities in which the border between sculpture and appliance, art and handiwork was blurred - a pure luxury art of brilliant technique, in which the object becomes just a medium for symbolic contents.

The famous peacock lamp was a real sensation at the Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Decorativa in Turin. It is an electric lamp in the form of a nude ivory figure surrounded by enamelled metal peacock feathers set with precious stones. The lamp is now untraced, known only from the present drawing.

The design is a prime example of Symbolism in Art Nouveau; at the same time, it contradicts all the laws of functionality in its conception.

This jewel is in the shape of an orchid, its four curving lilac petals emanating from a central diamond. Orchids symbolised the Art Nouveau movement and its fascination with nature, sensuality and exotic flowers.

Philippe Wolfers was the most prestigious of the Art Nouveau jewellers working in Brussels. Like his Parisian contemporary Ren� Lalique, he was greatly influenced by the natural world. These exotic orchids feature in the work of both. The technical achievement of enamelling in plique-a-jour (backless) enamel on these undulating surfaces is impressive.

This sterling silver planter has a floral cutout border.