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Axel Vervoordt

Antiquaire

The Antiquaire studio spaces at Kanaal, which are the home of our Interiors & Design Practice

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.
Jacques Chirac at Axel Vervoordt's booth at the 1984 Biennale des Antiquaires de Paris
The way one looks at things is of the utmost importance. Seeing is feeling with the eyes.

Selected objects

Architectural model of a classical temple

Models of Ancient Greek and Roman buildings are associated with the concept of the 'Grand Tour'. From the late seventeenth until well into the nineteenth century, the education of a young European aristocrat could not be considered complete unless he had undertaken a 'Grand Tour', a journey to the preeminent cultural sites of southern Europe, in particular Italy. The models served not only as souvenirs but were also the first plastic examples for scholars unable to travel to Italy or Greece, who previously had only books and paintings to study with.

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Monumental head of the god Min

This superb head, slightly over life-size, represents one of the oldest and most important, yet at the same time least known deities of the Egyptian pantheon: Min, the god of fertility and fecundity. Despite its damaged state, however, the head continues to emanate an overpowering aura of divinity, accomplished by the sculptor's extraordinary skill and sensitivity. It almost certainly belonged to a temple statue.

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José Zanine Caldas - Square sculptured socle

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.

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Relief fragment of Isi and Rekhti

Old Kingdom reliefs set the stylistic standards for centuries to come. In addition, they reveal much about what defined the society that created them: a sincere appreciation for human existence and its many delights, a deep reverence for the gods and the pharaoh, and above all else an unwavering faith in the promises of the afterlife. Shown here is an intriguing fragment of such a relief, showing the nobleman Isi and his wife Rekhti, together with their children.

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Relief fragment of Isi and Rekhti, Old Kingdom, Vth Dynasty, reign of Unas, ca. 2375 - 2345 B.C., Limestone, Egypt

Torso of a Buddha

This slate torso wears a tightly-clinging monastic robe, revealing the contours of an apparently sexless body. The aesthetic qualities of this torso are derived from the harmonious balance of volumes, the beautiful contours and the fine stone surface. The image of the Buddha or "The Enlightened One" expresses serene quiescence. The harmony of his perfect proportions and the graciousness of his physical form represent one of the many qualities or powers of a Buddha.

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Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt

This son of the goldsmith Jan Miechielsen van Mierevelt was a student of Montfort at Utrecht, and later of Willem Willemsz at Delft. After joining the Sint Lucas Gild in La Hague in 1652 he developed himself to one of the most sought after portraitists of his time. Van Mierevelt was appointed Court Painter of the house of Oranje-Nassau. He made portraits of among others Willem I and the princes Frederik-Hendrik and Moritz. Van Mierevelt left a substantial body of work.

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View selected objects