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Jules Wabbes was one of the foremost Belgian interior architects, whose sophisticated aesthetic preserved quality of execution and carefully-selected materials as its foundation. Originally a photographer, then an actor, subsequently an antiques dealer, and eventually a decorator and furniture designer, Wabbes's clients by the 1960s included Sabena Airlines and the American embassies in London and Brussels, amongst numerous other private and corporate clients.
Guided by a strong sense of architectural massing, and emboldened by exotic surfaces and materials, the interior that Wabbes created as a pied-à-terre for a private client in the Louise district of Brussels between 1964-1965, is arguably the most sophisticated and luxurious of his interiors. Featuring walls, doors, ceiling panels and an American-style kitchen of macassar ebony, with bronze accents and Thai silk textiles, the compact apartment was furnished with a selection of Wabbes's signature and custom designs. Having remained intact, un-modified and virtually unused since 1965, the apartment delivered an environment of unparalleled sophistication.
In 1968, the same client commissioned from Wabbes a second series of furnishings for a villa in the suburbs of Brussels. Rarely does such uniquely provenanced group of works by one of Belgium's most celebrated interior designers appear on the market.
AN IMPORTANT GROUP OF FURNISHINGS DESIGNED BY JULES WABBES, 1964-1968
LOTS 62 - 79
JULES WABBES (1919-1974)
PAIR OF LIVOURNE SETTEES, 1964-1965
Details
JULES WABBES (1919-1974)
PAIR OF LIVOURNE SETTEES, 1964-1965
supplied by Le Mobilier Universel, stained wood, leather and fabric upholstery, assorted loose cushions of Thai silk, together with a matching stained wood side-table
settee 25 in. (63.5 cm.) high; 82 in. (211 cm.) wide; 34 in. (88.5 cm.) deep; table 23 in. (58.5 cm.) high; 34¼ in. (87.7 cm.) wide; 34¾ in. (88.5 cm.) deep (3)
PAIR OF LIVOURNE SETTEES, 1964-1965
supplied by Le Mobilier Universel, stained wood, leather and fabric upholstery, assorted loose cushions of Thai silk, together with a matching stained wood side-table
settee 25 in. (63.5 cm.) high; 82 in. (211 cm.) wide; 34 in. (88.5 cm.) deep; table 23 in. (58.5 cm.) high; 34¼ in. (87.7 cm.) wide; 34¾ in. (88.5 cm.) deep (3)
Provenance
Rue Livourne, Brussels, 1964-1965.
Literature
M. Ferran-Wabbes, Jules Wabbes, Ghent, 2010, p.174 (illustrated in-situ, photograph dated 1969).
Brought to you by
Ashley Devenish
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