"Crépuscule" (Dusk) vase"
by WOLFERS, Philippe, Crystall, glass, flashed, cut, height 31 cm
Besides his activities as a jeweller, Wolfers worked as a designer of glassware, principally for Belgium’s leading glass manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert in Seraing-sur-Meuse. The Val-Saint-Lambert works occupied the site of an old Cistercian abbey, and with a daily output of around 160.000 units ranked among the biggest producers in Europe. Most of these were crystal articles, but there were also Art Nouveau flashed-glass products. Wolfers had his glasswork finished by gem cutters in his own workshop, each piece is unique.
The Cr�puscule vase was executed in the Cristalleries Val-Saint-Lambert. Its body of the glass is embraced by a bat, the creature of twilight, half-mammal, half-bird, with an almost human countenance, a synonym for the vampire. The bat plays an outstanding role in Art Nouveau. The bizarre winged creature is perpetuated in all conceivable materials.