Antiquaire

A modern vision on today’s antiquaire

For more than half a century, the Axel Vervoordt Company’s relationship with art and antiques has been a way to share our experiences of the world. We believe the best way to full inhabit a space is by being surrounded by architecture, furniture, art, and objects that are represented by the honesty of their materials and the purity of intent in their creation.

Axel Vervoordt was named Officier des Arts et des Lettres by Ms. Hélène Farnaud-Defromont, Ambassador of France in Belgium, during a ceremony at Castle of 's-Gravenwezel.

The way one looks at things is of the utmost importance. Seeing is feeling with the eyes.

The Frank Wlasek collection, created by José Zanine Caldas in the late 1960s, contains the largest amount of custom-made furniture and sculptures by the architect-designer ever to be seen, and which has been kept together to this day. More than 30 pieces make up this collection, ranging from monumental dining tables made out of entire tree trunks or roots of tropical salvaged hardwood, large series of Caldas' well-known trunk chairs and several masterpieces of sculpture.

In 1974, at the end of his life, he declared in a late interview with Michelle Feiner: "The creation is an invention that has to be improved, made valuable by perfect technicians. The creation lives a life of its own. I always liked nice things, beautiful things that are well made. I create timeless objects that will resist the test of time."

The firm Gillows, or Gillow as it was originally known, was founded by Robert Gillow in Lancaster. The earliest records date from 1731 and by the end of the eighteenth century they were famous for being ingenious cabinet-makers, which they exported to London and overseas. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Gillows family members ceased to be involved in the business but the name Gillows endured. Their furniture was distinctly conservative in style, continuing to produce certain models years after they had ceased to be fashionable.

The sensual Contour Side Chair combines a smooth and fluid frame with a comfortably reclining seat. This authentic furniture piece retains the original upholstery and is labelled underneath. The 'Contour' series of furniture was first produced in 1953 by Kagan-Dreyfuss - a New York-based company founded by Hugo Dreyfuss and Vladimir Kagan in 1950 - and was a favourite of celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and Gary Cooper.

The delicately carved torso presents an idealized depiction of the upper body of a man. This type of representation is characteristic for the Ptolemaic Period, when anatomical features were generalized in order to be easily recognizable. Details of the human body are alluded to rather than elaborated, and the plastic qualities of the human flesh are often ignored, with arms and legs presenting the same appearance, whether they are held straight or flexed. The only indication of musculature in this sculpture is the slight curvature of the pectorals.

View selected objects

Antiquaire

A modern vision on today’s antiquaire

José Zanine Caldas - Square sculptured socle

Jules Wabbes - Round table

Writing desk

Vladimir Kagan - Contour side chair

Torso of a man

Antiquaire

A modern vision on today’s antiquaire

Selected objects