Collection Wolfers & Petrucci: Hidden Treasures

Philippe Wolfers
Vase Cyclamen, 1896
Patinated bronze
Dimensions: 31,5 × 13,7 cm
Signed: “Ph. Wolfers” on the lower part of the vase
Provenance:
Philippe Wolfers
Marcel Wolfers and Clairette Petrucci collection
(by descent)
Exhibited:
Brussels, Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles, 1897
(probably the version that is now in the Museum
für Kunst-, Stadt- und Theatergeschichte im Reiss-
Museum, Mannheim)
Ghent, Museum voor Sierkunst, 12/05–10/06/1979,
cat. No. 7
Lissabon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 05/11–
05/12/1991, cat. No. 135
Brussels, Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en
Geschiedenis, 15/02–15/04/1992, cat. No. 135
Zürich, Bellerive Museum, 06/10/1993–09/01/1994,
cat. No. 65
Ghent, Design museum Gent, 16/12/2006–09/04/2007
Bibliography:
Philippe J., Le Val Saint-Lambert – Ses cristalleries et
l’art du verre en Belgique, Liège, Eugène Wahle, 1980,
p. 208 (photo No. 144)
Philippe Wolfers : juwelen, zilver, ivoor, kristal
(1858–1928), Gent, Museum voor Sierkunst, 1979,
p. 15 (with photo)
Philippe & Marcel Wolfers – De l’Art Nouveau à l’Art
Déco, Bruxelles, K.M.K.G., 1992, p. 60 (photo) & p. 90
Philippe und Marcel Wolfers – Art Nouveau und Art
Déco aus Brüssel, Zürich, Museum Bellerive, 1993,
p. 66 (with photo)
De Dynastie Wolfers – Meesters in zilver, Gent, Design
museum Gent, 2006, p. 13 (with photo)
Adriaenssens W., Beredeneerde Catalogus van
het persoonlijke oeuvre van Philippe Wolfers in
De Wolfers Dynastie – van art nouveau tot art deco,
Gent, Design museum Gent, 2006, p. 321 (No. 22)
Of this magnificent art nouveau design, Philippe Wolfers made a unique version
in crystal and silver. Apart from the bronze edition (again conceived for a
maximum of 12 casts), no editions in other materials seem to have been made.
Up to this date, only two bronze versions are known, the vase in the Mannheim
museum which was bought at the Brussels exhibition of 1897 by Carl and Anna
Reiss and this vase from the personal collection of Philippe Wolfers.
30