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Wolfers, Marcel, Inauguration of the Wolfers Brothers Silversmith House, Brussels, 1912, Reverse
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From the collection of John Birks
Marcel Wolfers (1886-1976)
Obverse: AN 1850 LOUIS WOLFERS FONDA ATELIER d'ORFEVRERIE RUE DES ONGS-CHARIOTS (In the year 1850 Louis Wolfers Founded the Workshop on the Street Ongs-Chariots)
List of locations on obverse: BRUXELLES RUE d'ARENBERG 1912, BRUXELLES RUE D'LUXEM 1890, ANVERS 1897, BUDAPEST 1908, DUSSELLDORF 1903, LIEGE 1904
Reverse: 4-11-1912, INAUGURATION DE LA MAISON WOLFERS FRČRES, 11-13 Rue D'ARENBERG, BRUXELLES (4-11-1911, Inauguration of the House Wolfers Brothers, 11-13 Arenberg Street, Brussels)
This medal celebrates the opening in 1912 of a new "House Wolfers Brothers" silversmith shop in Brussels. Wolfers became one of the most famous Belgian silversmith companies of the 19th century, its reputation comparable to those of Emile Puiforcat, Odiot or Aucoc in Paris, Garrard in London, Tiffany or Gorham in America. In the first half of the 19th century, three young German silversmith brothers, Edouard, Guillaume and Louis Wolfers established two workshops in Brussels. In 1852, Louis Wolfers (1820-1892) registered his makers’ mark, consisting of a letter W above a boar’s head.
After their apprenticeships, Louis Wolfers' three sons, Philippe, Max and Robert, were sent to prospect for business. As a result, the Wolfers firm associated with Bonnebacker of Amsterdam, P. Kirscher in Düsseldorf, Goldschmidt in Köln, and Friedlander in Berlin. At the end of the 19th century Wolfers Frčres silver was mostly heavy, cast or hammered; the decoration chased and engraved. Wolfers’ workshops employed highly skilled workers; there was no room for low quality stamped production. Philippe was the artistic director and designer for the family workshop called Wolfers Frčres (Wolfers Brothers), whose inauguration is celebrated by this medal by (his son?) Marcel Wolfer. He played a very important role in the development of Art Deco in Belgium. Their workshop’s mark was a triangle containing three 5-pointed stars and is a rare example of a personal mark using Masonic symbols. Marcel Wolfers became one of Belgium's best known sculptors. The House Wolfers Frčres closed its doors in 1975, one year prior to the death of Marcel Wolfer.
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