Lot Essay
The items in the following sixty-six lots are from the Petrucci Wolfers collection, formed in part by Raphael and Claire Petrucci, and in part by their son-in-law Marcel Wolfers, with his wife Clairette.
The marriage of Marcel Wolfers (1886 - 1976) and Clairette Petrucci (1899 - 1994) in 1923, brought together two families with long and rich artistic backgrounds. Marcel Wolfers was the son of the renowned Belgian jeweller and silversmith Philippe Wolfers. He served his 'apprenticeship' in his father's workshop where, under the influence of the many skilled artists and craftsmen employed by Wolfers Frères, he developed his skills as a sculptor, silversmith and ceramicist. As early as 1907, he had rejected the excesses of the prevailing Art Nouveau style and found himself drawn to the artistic purity of China and the Far East, and in particular their use of lacquer. In later life he was to become not only a prolific and acclaimed sculptor, mainly in stone and ceramic, but also the creator of exquisite works in ivory and lacquer, and is credited with re-discovering the latter technique, first used in the Sung period.
Marcel was very much part of the literary and artistic avant garde in Brussels, and amongst his friends were many of the leading Belgian and French artists of the time - Dunand, Zadkine, Bourdelle, O'Kin, Besnard, Lenoble, Simmen, Foujita, Delaunay, Hamanaka and Clément Mère, to name but a few, many of whose works came to be represented in their collection. As artistic director of the family firm Wolfers Frères, founded by Louis Wolfers in 1850, Marcel collaborated with Clément Mère and Hamanaka to produce works to be sold by the gallery, and in the course of this association, acquired for himself several pieces by these artists. (See lots 203, 204, 217, and 220).
In 1925, Marcel and his father exhibited in the Belgian Pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and whilst there purchased several pieces for his collection directly from the exhibition. (See lots 173, 191, 192, 214).
Marcel's wife Clairette was the daughter of Raphael and Claire (née Verwee) Petrucci. Raphael Petrucci, Marquis Petrucci of Sienna, (1872 - 1917), was a philosopher and sociologist with a fine collection of Japanese and Chinese art. His wife Claire (1873 - 1956) was the daughter of the Belgian painter Alfred Verwee, and herself an enthusiastic collector and patron. She assisted Raphael in his collection and, after her husband's death in 1917 began her own collection of works by contemporary artists. In 1926 Claire Petrucci commissioned the Belgian modernist architect Jean Eggerix to design an apartment building in the rue de Praetere, close to the Avenue Louise in Brussels. This striking building was to house on one floor herself and her late husband's collection of Oriental art in a traditional interior, and on another, her daughter Clairette and son-in-law Marcel, with their contrastingly modern collection of furniture and works of art, which reflected their interest in contemporary decorative arts and their wide circle of friends and contacts. Many of the items here offered formed part of this interior and a number can be seen in their original setting in the contemporary photographs reproduced with these lots. (See also: Domus, August 1930, pp. 46-48, for an illustrated article on the Eggerix apartment)
Clairette trained as an artist in Paris, where she lived from 1915 and where she met and later married Marcel Wolfers. The collection which Marcel formed with his wife, including their furniture and furnishings and later, pieces from Clairette's family, were all meticulously recorded and archived, and archive details, where extant, have been given in the relevant text below.
The marriage of Marcel Wolfers (1886 - 1976) and Clairette Petrucci (1899 - 1994) in 1923, brought together two families with long and rich artistic backgrounds. Marcel Wolfers was the son of the renowned Belgian jeweller and silversmith Philippe Wolfers. He served his 'apprenticeship' in his father's workshop where, under the influence of the many skilled artists and craftsmen employed by Wolfers Frères, he developed his skills as a sculptor, silversmith and ceramicist. As early as 1907, he had rejected the excesses of the prevailing Art Nouveau style and found himself drawn to the artistic purity of China and the Far East, and in particular their use of lacquer. In later life he was to become not only a prolific and acclaimed sculptor, mainly in stone and ceramic, but also the creator of exquisite works in ivory and lacquer, and is credited with re-discovering the latter technique, first used in the Sung period.
Marcel was very much part of the literary and artistic avant garde in Brussels, and amongst his friends were many of the leading Belgian and French artists of the time - Dunand, Zadkine, Bourdelle, O'Kin, Besnard, Lenoble, Simmen, Foujita, Delaunay, Hamanaka and Clément Mère, to name but a few, many of whose works came to be represented in their collection. As artistic director of the family firm Wolfers Frères, founded by Louis Wolfers in 1850, Marcel collaborated with Clément Mère and Hamanaka to produce works to be sold by the gallery, and in the course of this association, acquired for himself several pieces by these artists. (See lots 203, 204, 217, and 220).
In 1925, Marcel and his father exhibited in the Belgian Pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and whilst there purchased several pieces for his collection directly from the exhibition. (See lots 173, 191, 192, 214).
Marcel's wife Clairette was the daughter of Raphael and Claire (née Verwee) Petrucci. Raphael Petrucci, Marquis Petrucci of Sienna, (1872 - 1917), was a philosopher and sociologist with a fine collection of Japanese and Chinese art. His wife Claire (1873 - 1956) was the daughter of the Belgian painter Alfred Verwee, and herself an enthusiastic collector and patron. She assisted Raphael in his collection and, after her husband's death in 1917 began her own collection of works by contemporary artists. In 1926 Claire Petrucci commissioned the Belgian modernist architect Jean Eggerix to design an apartment building in the rue de Praetere, close to the Avenue Louise in Brussels. This striking building was to house on one floor herself and her late husband's collection of Oriental art in a traditional interior, and on another, her daughter Clairette and son-in-law Marcel, with their contrastingly modern collection of furniture and works of art, which reflected their interest in contemporary decorative arts and their wide circle of friends and contacts. Many of the items here offered formed part of this interior and a number can be seen in their original setting in the contemporary photographs reproduced with these lots. (See also: Domus, August 1930, pp. 46-48, for an illustrated article on the Eggerix apartment)
Clairette trained as an artist in Paris, where she lived from 1915 and where she met and later married Marcel Wolfers. The collection which Marcel formed with his wife, including their furniture and furnishings and later, pieces from Clairette's family, were all meticulously recorded and archived, and archive details, where extant, have been given in the relevant text below.