Axel Vervoordt October 19Th 2018 - April 28Th 2019

ROOM OF WONDER I AXEL VERVOORDT OCTOBER 19TH 2018 - APRIL 28TH 2019

Please do not touch the exhibited objects. Please return this exhibition guide after your visit. Thank you for your understanding.

ROOM OF WONDER I AXEL VERVOORDT OCTOBER 19TH 2018 - APRIL 28TH 2019 Ground floor

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1 ROOMS OF WONDER IN DIVA

‘Room of Wonder I: Axel Vervoordt’ is the start of a series of exhibitions in which leading guest curators present their interpretation of a cabinet of wonders. Thus, DIVA continues to build on a concept that is also the starting point of the DIVA collection presentation, A Brilliant Story. Internationally acclaimed art dealer and interior designer Axel Vervoordt is the first to present his personal Room of Wonder at DIVA. AXEL VERVOORDT ON HIS ROOM OF WONDER

“A Room of Wonder is there to create ‘wonder’, to inspire, to discover things that surprise and fascinate. I myself always try to look at art as a child, without prejudice or foreknowledge, and I like to be surprised by what my senses intuitively present to me. Only then do I want to acquire knowledge about the object, the origin, the history, the artist and the circumstances in which it was made. Such deeper knowledge often leads to even greater wonder and fascination. As a collector, I’ve always looked for the dialogue between objects that reinforces their intrinsic power. In a traditional cabinet of wonders, all sorts of artefacts, exceptional naturalia and innovative scientific instruments were brought together to impress and to be studied. I want this Room of Wonders to similarly immerse you in a wonderful world, where pieces of various origins and diverse values were combined to inspire new ideas and creations.”

This exhibition guide contains concise information on the exhibited objects. The complete exhibition catalogue can be consulted at the table in Room I and, if desired, purchased in the museum shop.

7 ROOM I 1 In this composition of three worlds, ethnical and contemporary works of art melt with naturalia into an artist’s studio, which has the aura of a diva.

1 A.F. Vandevorst 4 Masatoshi Masanobu (Kochi, 1911-1995) Parachute Dress Work Collection Spring/Summer 2015 1959 Private collection Joyce diDonato Oil on canvas Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2 Wouters & Hendrix inv. A0713.119 Wind Hand to The Hilt (Perfection of Nature) (Time capsule) 5 Ida Barbarigo (b. 1920, Venice - d. 2018) 2014 Passeggiata spericolata Collection Wouters & Hendrix 1963 Jewelry Oil on canvas Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 3 Collection of precious non-treated inv. 1117.108 stones Sapphire, quartz, aquamarine, 6 Shiro Tsujimura (b. 1947, Gose) danburite, spinel, topaz, Large jar with accrued kiln shards tourmaline, ametrine 2010 Weight between 3.78 and 1,228.30 Iga, natural ash glaze carat Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Collection Pascal Entremont inv. A0409.744

A sample of precious stones from 7 Paper from the workshop of Kazuo the collection of Pascal Entremont Shiraga (Amagasaki, 1924-2008) gives us an idea of the beautiful 1994 range of colours of the minerals Oil on paper produced by nature. For thirty-five Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, years Entremont has travelled inv. A0513.066 around the world in search of rare stones. He approached them as a scientist would, probing their authenticity and categorizing them in an inventory.

8 8 El Anatsui (b. 1944, Anyako) 9 Taxidermied long-tailed pangolin Flame of/in the Forest Ethiopia, 19th century 2012 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Aluminium, bottle tops, roofing Foundation, inv. A0485.026 sheets and copper wire Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 10 Angel Vergara (b. 1958, Mieres) inv. A0412.136 Milena et le Verre d’Eau 2007 The work Flame of/in the Forest Video projection and pencil on wood is a large tapestry-like metal panel painting sculpture made of thousands of Collection Axel & May Vervoordt colourful liquor caps and continues Foundation, inv. A0911.109 the artist’s exploration into the various languages of his materials. Gothic architectural element with El Anatsui uses aluminium bottle 11 Chimaera motifs caps and the labels of liquor bottles France, 13th century that are stitched together with Sandstone copper wire to create sculptural Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, installations that often look like a inv. A1012.039 three-dimensional tapestry. The transformation and reuse of simple, 12 Stephen Jones (b. 1957, United Kingdom) everyday materials draws attention Birdeye (hat) to contemporary ideas about waste, 1999 consumption and recycling, but Paper and feathers above all it presents an analysis of Collection MoMu Antwerp, inv. B02/6, conventional painting and sculpture. Collection Geert Bruloot - Eddy Michiels Anatsui reworks and rearranges found materials and transforms 13 Stephen Jones (b. 1957, United Kingdom) them into something new, yet they Superior (hat) don’t lose their own history. The 2001 repetitively hand-stitched bottle Leather and synthetic caps evoke the cultural tradition of Collection MoMu Antwerp, inv. B02/72, handcraft and of a graphical system Collection Geert Bruloot - Eddy Michiels that is used for patterns on African textile. And although the material is 14 Mammoth molar mass-produced, it has no industrial Fossil feel to it. Hints of the touch and Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, craft of human hands are embedded inv. 0407.018 in the work, bringing a sense of emotion and contemplation.

8 9 15 Pavo cristatus (Indian Peafowl) cultural references that humanized the Collection Museum of Natural pigs and emphasized the metaphor. The Sciences of Belgium, inv. RBINS Toile de Jouy pattern with rural scenes was 83306 fashionable in the eighteenth century for fabrics. In that sense, the pig is steeped 16 Jan Dries (b. Mol, 1925-2014) in a Marie Antoinette atmosphere, which Vol-ledig stresses even more the human profligacy. 1973 Carrara marble 19 Gorgonian or horn coral Collection Province of Antwerp, Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, inv. PB079 inv. A0318.051

17 Tsuyoshi Maekawa (b. 1936, 20 Equus quagga burchellii (Burchell’s Kohama) Zebra) Strings I Collection Museum of Natural Sciences 1959 of Belgium, inv. RBINS 1216 Linen, strings, oil on canvas Collection Axel & May Vervoordt 21 Takis (b. 1925, Athens) Foundation, inv. A0113.194 Signal 1958 18 Wim Delvoye (b. 1965, Wervik) Painted iron Toile de Jouy Collection Axel & May Vervoordt 2006 Foundation, inv. A0813.014 Tattooed pig skin on polyester mould 22 Caiman Collection Studio Wim Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, Delvoye inv. A0407.063

With his tattooed pigs, Wim 23 Narwhal tusk Delvoye criticizes the contemporary Ivory art market. In China, he had live Collection Axel & May Vervoordt piglets tattooed at his Art Farm. Foundation, inv.A1096.085 Collectors and speculators could put in a bid for the animals, which 24 Frame with 24 tiles with images of water were taxidermied after their death spirits and mythological creatures and sold. The link with wonder Antwerp, 1590-1609 cabinets, in which ‘rare’ species Maiolica, wood and artful ingenuity were means Collection MAS, collection Applied for exchanging knowledge, as well Arts and History (Vleeshuis), as to impress, is obvious. Delvoye inv. AV.1898.013.11-12 chose tattoos with a variety of

10 25 Stephen Jones (b. 1957, United 27 Sadaharu Horio (b. 1939-2018, Kobe) Kingdom) Untitled (Erotic scroll) Sway (hat) Wood engraving 1999 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Pleated silk, glass beads, brass, Foundation, inv. A0618.270 imitation coral, synthetic raffia Collection MoMu Antwerp, 28 Mask (Ngady a mwaash) inv. B02/26, Collection Geert Kuba/Bushoong peoples, Democratic Bruloot - Eddy Michiels Republic of the Congo, early 20th century 26 Headdress Fabric, cowry shell, wood, raffia, metal, Kaiapo-Xikrin people, Rio-Xingu, batiste Brazil Collection MAS, collection Africa, Feather, vegetable material inv. AE.0331 Collection MAS, collection America, 29 Mask with handle inv. AE.2001.0024.0003 Lega people, Democratic Republic of the Congo, mid-20th century Few Amazonian peoples devote Wood, kaolin as much attention to their body Collection MAS, collection Africa, ornaments as the Kayapo. inv. AE.2003.0010.0015 They refer to themselves as Mebêngôkre—the ‘people of the 30 Shiro Tsujimura (b. 1947, Gose) watering places’. The way they Tea cup paint their bodies and ornament Japan, 2009 themselves with feathers has not Hikidashi-guro pottery only an aesthetic meaning, but also Collection Axel & May Vervoordt embodies a social and religious Foundation, inv. A0409.744 code. The decoration of the body is a visual language that conveys such 31 Fossilized dinosaur excrement things as the wearer’s age group, Burma, Mesozoic era his social position, what family he Collection Axel & May Vervoordt belongs to and the ritual privileges Foundation, inv. A1011.082 he therefore commands. The same way that birds are distinguished 32 Necklace from each other by their plumage, Presumably Somalia, 20th century the Kayapo stress their collective Silver and individual identity by Collection MAS, collection Africa, transforming themselves, as it inv. AE.1978.0043.0007 were, into bird-people.

10 11 33 Series of jars with animals in that was piled on shelves or hung from the formalin ceiling in the workshops. Scientific study objects 19th century 36 Collection of shells and ammonites Collection Axel Vervoordt Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Company, inv. A0805.010 Foundation, inv. A1205.174

34 Nautilus shell 37 Vase in the shape of a stylized owl Collection Axel & May Vervoordt China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) Foundation, inv. A0918.249 Earthenware Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, 35 Casting moulds inv. A1006.081 Delheid Frères, Brussels, ca. 1880-1940 38 Necklace Collection DIVA, inv. S2004/14 Tukano people, Rio Vaupès, Colombia Rope, silver Depending on the scale of the Collection MAS, collection America, company, the space available and inv. AE.1959.0045.0347 the expertise of its workers, the production of plaster moulds for In Colombia, a Tukano man must have casting objects in precious metals passed through all the stages of initiation was either subcontracted or done before he is eligible to wear the complete by the company’s own workers. ceremonial dance attire. The ritual dances, It’s known that Wolfers Frères has ornaments and dance accoutrements have separate workshops for this work, a symbolic significance connected with the namely the Salle de modelage et creation myths. Thus the colour of this rare de dessin (where objects were quartz pendant, or abé ye’eru, refers to the designed) and the Atelier des seed of the Sun-Father. The Tukano believe mouleurs (workshop for casting). that quartz is found where lightning had DIVA owns 475 plaster moulds struck the earth. Not every man possesses once owned by Delheid Frères this sort of pendant: most men wear from Brussels, one of Wolfers necklaces made of animal teeth or metal Frères’ competitors. They were triangles. made between 1880 and 1940 and document especially well the little- 39 Belt known art nouveau creations of this Northern Thailand firm. It wasn’t unusual that on the Leather, cotton, shell plaster moulds information was Collection MAS, collection Asia, written that refers to the objects inv. AE.2008.0006.0033 that were cast from them. Thus, they constituted a ‘living’ archive

12 40 Pierre Caille (b. 1911, Doornik - d. perfection. Ivory objects such as these were 1996, Brussels) presented during the initiation rites and the Cavalier I (pendant) masters explained their meaning. With the 1968 Lega, ivory symbolized the solidarity within Silver the Bwami society. Collection King Baudouin Foundation - Fund Christian 42 Angela Carrubba Pintaldi (b. 1960, Bauwens, on loan by DIVA, Syracuse) inv. B512/15 The humans protect Nature (ring) 1998 In the 1940s, the painter, sculptor Silver and pearl, unique piece and ceramist Pierre Caille started Private collection May Vervoordt to apply his visual language to the creation of terracotta and enamel 43 Otto Boll (b. 1952, Geldern) jewels. His large, fantastic animal Plastic Sketch A figures in polychrome wood got a 2012 counterpart in gold or silver. Using Foam cardboard with poppy capsule and the cire perdue technique, Caille maple seed created pendants shaped like Collection of the artist, Courtesy Axel miniature characters from fables, as Vervoordt Gallery, inv. A0518.028 well as comedy characters. 44 Gotthard Graubner (b. 1930, Erlbach - d. 41 Female figurine 2013, Insel Hombroich) Lega people, Democratic Republic Untitled (Kissenbild) of the Congo, early 20th century 1982 Ivory Oil on canvas over synthetic wool Collection MAS, collection Africa, Collection Axel & May Vervoordt inv. AE.3639 Foundation, inv. A0908.241

Ivory objects such as this figurine 45 Pi disk are the property of the highest- China, Western Zhou dynasty ranking members of the Bwami 1300-1000 BC societies. For the Lega, the Bwami Jade society is the most important thing Collection Axel & May Vervoordt in life; the societies are open to both Foundation, inv. A0315.173 men and women. Membership of and promotion within the Bwami 46 Decorated skull of a monkey society depends on a number of Borneo factors: character, support by family Wood members, wealth and initiation. Collection MAS, Collection Oceania, The initiations depart from moral inv. AE.2004.0045.000

12 13 47 Vanitas skull 53 Feather crown 17th century Kaiapo-Xikrin people, Rio Xingu, Brazil Polychrome Wood Cotton, feathers Collection Axel Vervoordt Collection MAS, collection America, Company, inv. A0213.144 inv. AE.2003.0026.0004

48 Snake necklace 54 Koen Wygaerden (Antwerp, 1947-2016) USA, Texas, 20th century Sphere with sign of the Zodiac Snake vertebra 1993 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Obsidian, solid silver, wood Foundation, inv. A1117.034 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation 49 Vanitas Necklace Necklace with 19 miniature skulls 55 Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527, Tibet, 17th century Leeuwarden - 1609, Hamburg) Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Architectura Foundation, inv. A1106.090 Edition by Beuckel Cornelisz Nieulandt for Heyndrick Hondius, published in 1608 50 Hat of married woman (isicholo) Collection Axel & May Vervoordt with bandeaux Foundation, inv. AINV0098 Zulu people, South Africa, late 20th century 56 Octave Landuyt (b. 1922, Ghent) Cotton, human hair, pigment, Bird for Blue Windmill (pair of earrings, metal part of a demi-parure) Collection MAS, collection Africa, White gold, 2 opals, 2 trilobites inv. AE.1990.0003.1-6; 2-6; 3-6 Collection Octave Landuyt, represented by WM Gallery 51 A pair of ear discs Zulu people, South Africa, late 57 Small trunk 20th century Romanesque Wood 12th century Collection MAS, collection Africa, Horn and iron inv. AE.1990.0003.5-6 Axel and May Vervoordt Foundation collection, inv. A1292.099 52 Selection of leather jewellery cases 58 Reliquaries France, 19th century France, 17th century Collection Axel Vervoordt Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, Company, inv. A0199.121 inv. A0612.267

14 59 Pendant 64 Trumpet-playing figurine Magnifying glass, rock crystal, 19th century scale Signed: d'Après Viollet-le-Duc Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Bronze Foundation, inv. A0618.193 Collection Axel and May Vervoordt Foundation, inv. A0287.072 60 Bell Zande people, Democratic 65 Sadaharu Horio (Kobe, 1939-2018) Republic of the Congo, early 20th Ironouri (Paint Placements) century 2008 Wood Branches, fabric, acrylic paint Collection MAS, collection Africa, Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, inv. AE.0772 inv. A0409.681

61 Anthropomorphic bow harp 66 Sculptured calabash with female figure Ngbaka people, Democratic Bembe people, Democratic Republic of Republic of the Congo, early 20th the Congo, early 20th century century Fabric, calabash, wood, pigment, quartz Wood, skin, rope, leather Collection MAS, collection Africa, Collection MAS, collection Africa, inv. AE.0792 inv. AE.0598 67 Beaked mask (sagbwe) 62 Sadaharu Horio (b. 1939, Kobe) Diomandé-Mau people, village of Tyawé, Ironouri (Paint-Placements) Ivory Coast 2016 Fabric, feather, wood, raffia, nut Objet trouvé Acquired by P.J. Vandenhoute in de Dan Collection Axel & May Vervoordt village of Douwé during his expedition Foundation, inv. A0618.266 through Ivory Coast, 1939 Collection MAS, collection Africa, 63 Octave Vandeweghe (b. 1988, inv. AE.1977.0037.0018 Knokke) Cultured Manners #85 68 James Ensor (b. 1860 - d. 1949, Ostend) 2017 Devils Trashing Angels and Archangels Smokey quartz 1888 Collection Octave Vandeweghe Etching on paper Collection Province of Antwerp, inv. PG 728

This etching is one of Ensor’s most daring from his graphic oeuvre. The image refers to Pieter Bruegel’s painting The Fall of

14 15 the Rebel Angels (Brussels, Royal 71 Dominique Stroobant (b. 1947, Antwerp) Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium), De Solstice en Solstice (heliographics) Jacques Callot’s etching The 1982-2012 Temptation of St Anthony and Four pinhole camera photographs taken Hieronymus Bosch’s fantastic with a shutter speed of one day, figures. Above all, the work is a artist's house in Carrara, Italy milestone in Ensor’s own fantastic Collection of the artist, Courtesy Axel visual language. Vervoordt Gallery, inv. A0112.037

Starting from January: 72 Joseph Schippers (b. 1868 - d. 1950, James Ensor (b. 1860 - d. 1949, Antwerp) Ostend) Study of Monkeys Hop-Frog’s Revenge 1910 1898 Oil on canvas Etching on paper Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Collection Province of Antwerp, Foundation, inv. 1097.105 inv. PG 441 73 Stereoscopic photograph of a dog’s 69 Ts'ung skeleton China, Western Zhou period, Albumen stereoscopic print from a glass 1030-770 BC negative Jade Ca. 1865 Collection Axel Vervoordt Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Company, inv. A0494.492 Foundation, inv. A0597.487

70 Dominique Stroobant (b. 1947, 74 Natural stalactite Antwerp) China, Gansu Province Study for A3 sculpture 8 Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, 1968 inv. A0207.726 Stoneware Collection Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 75 Adriaen Collaert (b. 1560 - d. 1618, inv. A0808.143 Antwerp), engraver, Crispijn I van de Passe (b. ca. 1564, Arnemuiden - d. 1637, Utrecht), publisher Piscium Vivae Icones (turtle, crab, mermaid and merman, fish) Ca. 1580-1637 Engraving Collection Museums Bruges - Groeningemuseum, inv. 0000.GRO4197.111

16 76 Adriaen Collaert (b. 1560 - d. 1618, sets of jewellery in various materials, such Antwerp), after Hans Collaert I (b. as copper, brass, bronze and silver. His ca. 1530 - d. 1580) spiral shapes symbolize eternity. He was Design for a pendant with sea aged only eight when he made his first monster and mythological figures jewels for his sister’s doll. Later, most of his 1582 handmade creations were a gift for his wife Copperplate engraving on paper Louise. All his jewels are unique creations. Collection Museum Plantin- Moretus, inv. PK.OP.06793, 79 Niki de Saint Phalle (b. 1930, Neuilly-sur- starting from January 2019 Seine - d. 2002, La Jolla) inv. PK.OP.06794 Nana negresse (pendant) 1973 The print belongs to a series Gold and enamel, ex. 2/9, GEM Designs for Pendants; prints of this Montebello series now belong to the collections Collection RIRA, Cologne of various major museums. The jewel designs by the Antwerp In 1965, Niki de Saint Phalle caused engraver Hans Collaert I showcase quite a stir with her large sculptures of the sixteenth-century European female figures or Nanas. The colourful fashion in jewellery. Collaert found and expressive sculptures constituted an inspiration in for example the ode to the female figure and embodied legends about sea monsters that the feminist spirit of the artist. Together circulated in the port of Antwerp. with artists such as Yves Klein, Christo and Jean Tinguely (her husband), Niki de 77 Necklace with paw of a rodent Saint Phalle belonged to a movement that Onondaga people, New York, USA would come to be known as the Nouveau Animal material Réalisme. Later de Saint Phalle turned her Collection MAS, collection monumental Nanas also in jewels. For their America, inv. AE.1972.0014.0154 production, she worked together with her friend GianCarlo Montebello. With a gold 78 Alexander Calder (b. 1898, base, the enamelled surface of the jewels Lawnton - d. 1976, New York) looked particularly colourful. Brooch Ca. 1940 80 Angela Carrubba Pintaldi (b. 1960, Brass Syracuse) Collection RIRA, Cologne Amber bracelet Ca. 1995 Alexander Calder, famous in first Private collection May Vervoordt instance for his kinetic sculptures, was also a prolific designer of jewels. He created some 1,800

16 17 81 Cathérine Rochtus (b. 1957, fish and faces also characterizes these Antwerp) jewels. The painter took care of them Untitled (brooch) as if they were a treasure. He refused to 2017 exhibit them, and it would take till 1967 Yellow gold, 18 carat before a limited edition of some jewels was Collection Cathérine Rochtus produced and sold.

82 Necklace of a shaman 84 Frog-shaped breast ornament Rio Vaupès, Colombia Gran Chiriqui, border region Costa Rica - Tooth, vegetable material Panama, 700-1520 Collection MAS, collection Gold America, inv. AE.1959.0045.0362 Collection Ministry of the Flemish Community, Collection Paul and Dora 83 Pablo Picasso (b. 1881, Malaga - d. Janssen-Arts, 1973, Mougins) inv. MAS.IB.2010.017.113 Visage géometrique au Traits (medallion) Frogs and toads frequently feature in 1967 pre-Columbian art. In ancient times, in Gold, 23 carat Costa Rica frog-shaped pendants were Collection RIRA, Cologne cut from jade and green serpentine. The precious jade had the colour of plants and In the mid 1950s, Pablo Picasso water. Gold was the colour of the sun. Both created several necklaces with materials referred to fertility. Amphibians shells for his beloved Dora Maar. need water to reproduce and were almost At the time, he also focussed on invariably associated with water, fertility, ceramics. The fragility of this vegetation or farming. Furthermore, their material and Picasso’s admiration croak was linked to the thunder and the of the Renaissance gold- and start of the rainy season, and they played silversmiths stimulated his urge a part in ritual prayers for rain. In some to work with precious metals. This cultures, frogs and toads were punished resulted in a collaboration with when the rain held off. goldsmith François Hugo, which This breast ornament has a rattle in each would last several years. Initially, eye, which may refer to the frog’s croak they produced objects in precious and rainmaking. Most frog-shaped breast metals, but in 1960 a waster ornaments from Costa Rica and Panama resulted in the creation of several feature an amphibian with in its mouth a medallions. Hugo then made an double-headed snake: a symbol for water. entire series of gold medallions, based on designs and models for Picasso’s ceramics. Picasso’s typical visual language with bulls,

18 85 Emile Souply (b. 1933, Charleroi - Chaos #1 the sphere, forged from patined d. 2013, Ukkel) silver (925 ‰) and measuring 165 mm in Collar with chain diameter, is a reflection on the creation of 1962 granules, especially through spherodizing, Silver, chrome alloy a heat treatment that causes a spheroidite Collection King Baudouin micro structure to develop. The chaotic Foundation - Fund Christian part is made of piled-up modules of a Bauwens, on loan by DIVA, few granules, made of stainless steel and inv. B512/16 measuring 15 mm in diameter; no mould is used in their production. The forged 86 Angela Carrubba Pintaldi sphere is filled with polyurethane to link (Syracuse, 1960) the granules. Neck jewel with amethyst and meteorite 88 Necklace from 61 snake bones ca. 2000 Tukano people, Rio Vaupès, Colombia Private collection May Vervoordt Bone, cotton Collection MAS, collection America, 87 David Huycke (b. 1967, Sint- inv. AE.1959.0045.0331 Niklaas) Order & Chaos # 1 89 Two gold-coloured eardrops 2008 Sinu culture, Colombia, 500-1500 Silver, stainless steel, Gold and copper alloy (tumbaga cast) polyurethane Collection MAS, collection America, Collection DIVA, inv. S2010/18 inv. AE.1978.0046.0001.1-2/2

On 24 September 2010 silversmith According to the Spanish chroniclers the David Huycke obtained his PhD reputation of the Fincenu goldsmiths from in the Visual Arts with his thesis the tropical lowlands in northern Colombia The Metamorphic Ornament: was spread far and wide and their jewellery Re-Thinking Granulation, in which was traded as far as Panama and Costa he studies the transformational Rica. Among their best-known items are potential of granulation into the ‘false filigree’ ear pendants, for which sculptural silverware. Already in a lost-wax technique was used. Dating 1996 he broke new ground by the objects more or less accurately is a using the granulation technique hopeless task, since most of the finds from as a design principle instead of this area – like in the rest of Colombia a merely decorative element. In for that matter – were once robbed from several stages he explores the tombs. use of granules as building blocks and as the subject matter of the object he designs. In Order &

18 19 90 Paul Van Hoeydonck (b. 1925, 91 Anthropomorphic pendant with the face Antwerp) of jaguar and semicircular head covering Astronaut II (pendant) Tairona culture, Northern Columbia, 1972 500-1600 Gold, amber Gold and copper alloy (tumbaga cast) Collection King Baudouin Collection Ministry of the Flemish Foundation - Fund Christian Community, Collection Paul and Dora Bauwens, on loan by DIVA, Janssen-Arts, inv. B512/17 inv. MAS.IB.2010.017.170

Paul Van Hoeydonck is the only 92 Georges Cuyvers (b. 1951, Beverlo) artist in the entire world with work Necklace of his on the moon. Van Hoeydonck 2018 created an homage to the victims Gold, ex. 5/5 of space travel with his 8.5 cm tall Collection Georges Cuyvers statuette Fallen Astronaut. On 1 Augustus 1971, the crew of Apollo 15 placed the work of art on the moon, next to a commemorative plaque in honour of the fourteen astronauts and cosmonauts that lost their life in space. Later Van Hoeydonck started with the production of small jewels, made of old gold, which, according to him, the worked like scrap iron. He explored the border between sculpture and jewellery. He was linked to Otto Pienne’s and Günther Uecker’s Zero movement.

20 PASSAGEWAY I 1 This space represents a gate to another world, similar to the Japanese TORII, which functions like a gate between the world of the humans and the world of the gods.

93 Vishnu appeared nine times on the Earth as our India, 14th-15th century saviour, in various guises called avatars. He Granite will appear a tenth time. Collection MAS, collection Asia, inv. AE.1978.0042.0001 94 Anish Kapoor (b. 1954, Bombay) Random Triangle Mirror Hindu gods can be recognized from 2017 their pose, gestures and attributes. Stainless steel and resin This granite sculpture presents Collection Anish Kapoor Studio, Vishnu in his glorious ceremonial inv. WD100852 pose (bhogasthanaka). He has four Courtesy The Artist, Copyright Anish arms, with which he usually carries Kapoor 2018 four emblems: a wheel, a conch, a lotus flower and a mace. In this Anish Kapoor was born in Bombay, but instance he holds in one right hand has lived and worked in London since the the wheel that represents the sun 1970s. His sculptures reflect deep-rooted or perhaps a disc that serves as metaphysical oppositions: presence and a weapon. With the other right absence, being and not-being, the massive hand, he makes a reassuring and and the intangible. His works bear witness protective gesture: the abahaya- to a particular fascination with light and mudra or do-not-fear gesture. In dark. In Random Triangle Mirror, this is one left hand, he holds a conch and translated into the hundreds of facets that the other one rests on his hip. The refract the light and fragment the viewer. lotus flower and mace are missing. In that sense the work refers to the optical A typical iconographic element is effects of diamond. With his play of shapes the high tiara-shaped crown. and light, Kapoor attempts to create Vishnu is one of the most sublime experiences in which primary important gods from in Hinduism. physical and psychological sensations He sustains the universe and manifest themselves. protects humankind. When the earthly order is threatened, he descend on the Earth to fight evil and save humankind. In the Indian, cyclic world view, up till now he has

20 21 ROOM II 2 This room was inspired by collector cabinets like the ones that existed in Antwerp at the time of the Renaissance. Scholars and philosophers collected naturalia and artificialia with the aim to study them, to find inspiration and to create a new world.

95 Monodon monoceros (narwhal) recently one of the key specimens in the 1758 whale gallery. Collection Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium, inv. IRSNB 96 Portrait of a Lady with Red Hat 9323 Germany, 1st half 16th century Oil on panel The narwhal is a medium-size Private collection, Brussels, inv. RB 550 toothed whale, member of the family Monodontidae together This portrait was probably painted in with the beluga, another iconic Wittenberg at the court of John the whale species. Both the beluga Steadfast, Elector of Saxony from 1525 and the narwhal are cold-adapted until 1532. The portrait hasn’t been signed, species, only found in the Arctic but the style reminds of Lucas Cranach. region. The male narwhal is larger As the court painter of the Electors of than the female and is usually the Saxony, he painted various similar portraits only one bearing a tusk. The latter of female figures. Probably they are is a highly modified, spiralled idealized images of beautiful, opulently upper tooth, reaching a length attired women. Like this young lady, they of up to 2.6 metres. Although its wear a golden necklace, set with precious functions are still debated, the stones and lined with pearls. Underneath tusk is involved in visual display she’s wearing a heavier gold necklace that and non-aggressive contacts emphasizes the fairness of the plunging between males; it could also act neckline. The constricted waist, puffed as a sensory organ. Narwhals feed sleeves and wavy hair lend the woman a on fish, squid and shrimps. Dives certain seductiveness. The generalized of narwhals to depths beyond features of the faces might indicate that 1000 metres have been recorded. these women were courtesans. The skeleton of the adult male exposed here was acquired by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Brussels) at the end of the nineteenth or beginning of the twentieth century, and was until

22 97 Lucas Cranach the Younger (b. 98 Italian art cabinet 1515, Wittenberg - d. 1586) Italy, 1600-1699 Portraits of Prince Christian von Walnut, ebony, wood, metal, tortoise, Sachsen and Princess Marie von ivory, paint Sachsen Collection MAS, collection Applied 1564 Arts and History (Vleeshuis), Oil on panel inv. AV.1914.032.002 Private collection, Belgium From the sixteenth till the eighteenth Lucas Cranach the Younger century, the art cabinet was the epitome practised various genres, but of a wealthy lifestyle and good taste. The he really excelled as a painter of sumptuous cabinet provided sufficient portraits. The full-length treatment space for the passionate and rich owner of the human figure made it to store his collection, and allowed him to possible to use monumental frames, show off his knowledge about and interest which creates a certain distance in exotica and naturalia from the New between subject and viewer. At that World. The cabinet is a true showcase for time the portrait wasn’t meant to precious objects, natural curiosities, rare reflect the subject’s self-esteem works of art, historical or scientific objects. or character, but rather to denote This particularly skilfully designed cabinet social prestige and status. was made in Italy. It’s of outstanding Befitting their exalted status, technical quality and made of precious the young Duke Christian and exotic woods, inlaid with tortoise and Duchess Marie are dressed in ebony; it’s finished with bronze candelabra luxurious outfits with beautiful and sculptures of the Virgin Mary and golden jewellery that complement Saint Roch. each other. Portraits of children of The numerous drawers and hidden wealthy noble families were often compartments were used to order precious commissioned to be sent to future objects or keep valuable papers under marriage candidates. lock and key. This cabinet was used to The double portrait of Duke store and showcase objects such as Christian and Duchess Marie old coins, cameos, objects in precious belongs to a series of six portraits of metals, miniatures, innovative scientific the family, commissioned by Elector instruments, fossils of shells, corals, ivory, August of Saxony (1526–1586). taxidermied exotic animals, precious The other four portraits (of the stones, gemstones and jewels, and the like. Elector and his wife Anna, and of the elder children Duke Alexander and Duchess Elizabeth) are still in the collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden.

22 23 99 Initiation mask for boys 103 Jan Brueghel the Younger (b. 1601, (N’khanda) Antwerp - d. 1678, Antwerp) Yaka people, Democratic Allegory of Painting (Pictura as a Woman Republic of the Congo, early 20th Painting a Still Life) century Early 17th century (1635-1640) Fibre, raffia, wood, pigment Oil on copper Collection MAS, collection Africa, Private collection, the Netherlands inv. AE.0515 104 Flemish trunk with impressive lock 100 Pair of consoles with sculpted sea mechanism creatures 16th century Germany, ca. 1630-1640 Iron Polychrome wood and marble Collection Axel & May Vervoordt table tops Foundation, inv. AINV.0001 Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, inv. A0617.060 105 Lanceloot Blondeel (b. 1498, Poperinge - d. 1561, Bruges) 101 Folding screen with bucolic and Vanitas rocaille scenes Ca. 1550-1561 France, 18th century Oil on panel Collection Axel Vervoordt Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Company, inv. A0111.122 Foundation, inv. A1190.118

102 Yuko Nasaka (b. 1938, Osaka) 106 Federico Zuccaro (1542-1609) Untitled Portrait of Margaret of Savoy 1963 Ca. 1605 Synthetic paint, plaster and glue Oil on canvas on cotton, mounted on wooden Private collection, Antwerp board Collection Axel & May Vervoordt 107 Silver tray with the Rothschild Family Foundation, inv. A0512.075 coat of arms Marked for London, Thomas Gilpin, 1749 Coat of arms engraved ca. 1815 Silver Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, inv. A0912.173

24 108 Louis XV Console table owned by 111 Various Pi discs the de Baillet-Latour family China, Western Zhou Period (1300-1000 Second quarter of the 18th BC) century Jade Oak with rouge Languedoc Collection Axel & May Vervoordt marble top later added, apron Foundation carved with the coat of arms of the de Baillet-Latour family 112 Pi disc Collection Axel Vervoordt China, Western Zhou Period (1030-771 Company, inv. A0217.192 BC) Blue jade 109 Turned masterpieces Boule Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Contrefaite foundation, inv. A1091.098 France, ca. 1800 Fruitwood (in 10 layers), one In Chinese philosophy, the flat pierced signed Sorreele roundel called pi was considered in Collection Axel & May Vervoordt general a symbol of Heaven, conveying Foundation the equilibrium, symmetry, completion and perfect beauty of the path of the sun 110 Conical vase across the sky. Pi is understood as the Egypt, Old Kingdom, 3rd-6th opposite to the square tube called ts’ung, Dynasty, ca. 2686-2181 BC symbol of the Earth. The round shape of pi Diorite is said to derive from the circular path that Collection Axel & May Vervoordt the sun follows along the sky. The central Foundation, inv. 0609.152 hole of the disc represents the eternally fixed Pole Star and the principle of the Because of the lengthy and ‘Absolute’ (t’ai-chi) or ‘Absolute Oneness’ meticulous work they required, (t’ai-i) in Chinese philosophy. In the stone vessels were regarded beginning, pi discs and ts’ung ritual tubes as real luxury goods in ancient were used together for sacrificial rites and Egypt times. They were among court ceremonies. The form of pi became the commonest items of funerary the highest emblem of noble status and equipment placed in Egyptian high social position, often carved in jade, tombs accompanying the deceased symbolizing immortality because of to the afterlife. its exceptional durability and luminous beauty. Over time, pi can be considered as the most important funerary object for guiding the spirit of the deceased to heaven. It performed a ritual function in aristocratic burials, where it was placed above the head, below the feet, and on the

24 25 chest of the deceased. Pi discs first objects in jade is often enigmatic, the appeared in the Neolithic Age and ts’ung prisms and the pierced pi discs were very popular during the reigns respectively symbolise Earth and Heaven, of the Chinese Shang (ca. 1600- thus expressing well the very primal eternal 1046 BC) and Zhou Dynasty (ca. forces. 1045-256 BC). 115 Cups and small balusters 113 Turned goblet France, 18th century Germany, 16th-17th century Wood turnery Ivory Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, inv. A0686.026 Foundation, inv. A0189.131 116 Kichizaemon XV Raku (b. 1949, Japan) 114 Ts’ung Black Raku Tea Bowl, Yakinuki Type China, Shang Dynasty (1766-1121 Autumn 2011 BC) Earthenware Brown jade with a warm patina Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, A0313.085 Foundation, inv. A0288.092 The Raku family has handed down the This ts’ung object is an archaic tradition, the techniques and the spirit for prism with a rectangular exterior, over 450 years, since the days of Chôjirô but at the centre it has a cylindrical up to the current fifteenth generation. tube extending downwards to It’s amazing how each Raku generation form the base and rising above the has carried on the spirit of the tradition, flattened top to form the neck. This neither as a mere repetition nor a simple contrast between a square outside imitation of the same style, technique and and a circular inside represents mode of expression, but as a perpetual the universal balance and cosmic effort to discover its own interpretation power of ts’ung. The square pierced of the philosophical fundamentals set by tube became the symbol of the Chôjirô, who proposed a solution for the Earth and of terrestrial life, whereas individualistic expression. its counterpart, the round pi disc, Raku tea bowls are imbued with the embodies the heavenly spirit. wabi philosophy, which is fundamentally Jade is an extremely dense based on Zen Buddhism and Taoism. material with a rich texture, and It covers an extensive spiritual realm, a its enormous range of colours meaning of existence as well as a sense and wonderful translucidity has of nature and beauty. Decoration and inspired many forms of purely movement are rejected in favour of a world symbolic value. And although the of monochromatic silence, which in itself exact meaning of these carved embraces dynamism and plurality

26 117 Kazuo Shiraga (b. 1924 - d. 2008, 121 Hans Maler (b. 1485/1490, Ulm - d. 1529, Amagasaki) Schwaz) Untitled Portrait Anna of Hungary 1965 1523 Oil on canvas Oil on panel Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Private collection, Brussels, Foundation, inv. A0905.198 inv. RB 519

118 Jef Verheyen (b. 1932, Itegem - d. In 1515 Anna of Hungary (1503-1547) 1984, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt) married king Ferdinand I, who was later Fiori Oscuri to become emperor of the Holy Roman 1977 Empire. The couple took a keen interest Oil on canvas in oak Italian in art and they gathered a collection of renaissance frame coins and weapons that is now part of Collection Axel & May Vervoordt the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Foundation, inv. AINV087 Museum in Vienna. Anna had an impressive collection of jewels, of which an 119 Antwerp art cabinet with tortoise inventory was made after her death. The shell inlay inventory describes several jewels with the Antwerp, 16th century initials A and F made of diamonds, rubies Wood, tortoise shell and emeralds. Private collection, Antwerp Hans Maler painted her when she was aged 20, dressed in a red velvet gown 120 Corneille de Lyon, also known as that is ornamented with gold thread. An Corneille de La Haye (b. 1500, The oval pendant with a bird that holds a ruby Hague - d. 1575, Lyon) heart, adorns her neck. A precious pearl Portrait of a Young Woman dangles from the chain. The gold pendant 16th century that decorates her hat, has a large ruby and Oil on panel three pearls set in it. Private collection, Brussels, inv. RB 537 122 Yuko Nasaka (b. 1938, Osaka) Work 1963 Synthetic paint, plaster and glue on cotton, mounted on wooden board Private Collection, Courtesy Axel Vervoordt Gallery

26 27 123 Marina Abramović (b. 1946, 124 Male power figure (nkishi) Belgrade) Songye people, Democratic Republic of Healed Inner Sky the Congo, late 19th - early 20th century 1991-2011 Wood, vegetable material, glass, copper, Iron, amethyst, geode, held iron, raffia, leather, snakeskin, horn, together by an iron strap mixed media Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Collection MAS, collection Africa, Foundation, inv. A1006.090 inv. AE.1940.0001.0047

Marina Abramović has described This power figure nkishi( ) with its fear- herself as the ‘Grandmother inspiring face and bulging eyes has of Performance Art’. In her magical substances hidden in its abdomen, performances, she explores and upper arms and horn. Large power pushes the boundaries of her figures like these resulted from a close physical and mental potential. cooperation between the wood carver and In this work, an iron construction the ritual expert. The wood carver made upholds a giant amethyst, allowing the sculpture, the ritual specialist (nganga) a human being to stand under the hid the magical power substances crystal. For centuries, it has been (bishimba) in it and activated it with songs claimed that amethysts emit a and sacrificial incantations. Magical natural energy that has healing substances could be used in two ways: powers for the body as well as for to cause evil or to protect. This Songye the soul. sculpture was acquired by Paul Osterrieth, Twenty years after its creation, this who made the following note: ‘it belonged work showed a disquieting crack in to Kolemoina [Kolemwana], fetishist the amethyst. Replacing the crystal [nganga] and chief of the Basongomeno, was impossible, so together with who was sentenced to death [by the the artist, Axel Vervoordt decided Belgian colonial authorities] because he to ‘heal’ it and keep it together had poisoned 17 people.’ The headdress, with iron straps. This intervention the beaded necklace and the wide raffia gave the work an extra dimension. skirt refer to the nineteenth-century attire The fragile energy of the amethyst of the chiefs. was held together. Humans and nature harmoniously work 125 Tapestry with biblical scene together to safeguard precious Paris or Fontainebleau, mid-16th century energy. Abramović’s Inner Sky for Silk and wool Departure became Healed. Collection Axel Vervoordt Company, inv. A0211.141

28 126 Attributed to Hans Krell (b. 1490, 128 Peter Vermandere (b. 1969, Antwerp) Crailsheim - d. 1565, Leipzig) Ik geef me over (Manneke II) (brooch Portrait of a Lady from the series Carnivalesques and 16th century Grotesques) Oil on panel 2007 Private collection, Brussels, Silver, gold, natural red zircon, inv. RB 536 freshwater pearl Private collection 127 ORLAN (b. 1947, Saint-Etienne) Tête de fou (Bijou d’artiste) 129 Owl cup 2010 Master with Pelican Silver and gold, single item Antwerp, 1548-1549 Collection Diane Venet Coconut, silver Collection King Baudouin Foundation, on Turning her body into a work of loan by DIVA, inv. B512/1 art, ORLAN has never shied away from the controversy caused by her The small, pitiable little owl—Ich armes often provocative performances, kůsselinn klein—harbours many thoughts videos and photographs, as well while he flies through the green forest. as her paintings and sculptures. When at night he leaves his beloved, he She rose to great fame through her bids farewell with a song: ‘als alle ander participation in bio-art projects. vogels sin thoe neste so is min flige beste.’ In the early 1990s, she underwent (When all the other birds are resting on plastic surgery a number of times their nest, my flying is the best.) For this to modify her body. By committing line of verse, engraved on the edge of the herself personally and physically, cup, the Antwerp master with pelican she questioned the status of the found inspiration in a north-eastern Middle female body and the beauty ideal Dutch song, which was already in print in a social, political and religious in 1537. A variant of the line is engraved context. Due to her eccentric looks on later owl cups with a coconut body and diva air, she is much talked of from Germany (1556) and Nijmegen in the art world. (the Netherlands, ca. 1575-1580). There’s evidence that the owl cups were prizes at contests of rhetoricians. A society of rhetoricians from Poperinge conserved its insignia in a similar cup, but in 1561 the Antwerp Guild of Culverineers possessed one as well. Whether these enigmatic owls saw a lot of daylight, is rather doubtful. Like the windmill cups, they were used behind closed doors and in the

28 29 Netherlands they certainly didn’t the Byzantine era, the Middle Ages, the belong to the silver repertoire of Renaissance, and again in the eighteenth the seventeenth century still life and nineteenth centuries. In each of these painters in the Low Countries. periods, cameos and intaglios— skillful carvings on a minute scale—were much 130 Cameo with Roman Emperor prized and collected, sometimes as Servius Sulpicius Galba symbols of power mounted in jewelled Italy, 1575-1600 settings, sometimes as small objects Sardonyx (layered agate), in later for private devotion or enjoyment. This gold setting cameo, dating from the fifth century BC, Collection Victoria and Albert is Etruscan, made in the area roughly Museum, London. Donated by Dr corresponding to Tuscany in modern W. L. Hildburgh, FSA, inv. A.31- Italy. It’s difficult to make out detail under 1937 ordinary viewing conditions, but close up it shows the head of a young man in profile, 131 Cameo with camel head backed by what appear to be part of a huge Italy, probably 1670-1720 pair of wings. This has led to a possible Engraved gemstone set in gold identification with the god Hypnos. ring Collection Victoria and Albert 133 Octave Landuyt (b. 1922, Ghent) Museum, London, Townshend Bird for Blue Windmill (pendant) Bequest, inv. 1802-1869 White gold, 1 brilliant, 2 opals, 2 trilobites, 1 chiton, pre-Columbian bead 132 Cameo with male head, presumed Collection Octave Landuyt, represented Hypnos by WM Gallery Italy, 500-400 BC Engraved gemstone: orange-red 134 Nautilus cup translucent carnelian, set in gold Jan Bellekin (engraver), Master M. Elblag ring (silversmith), Amsterdam, ca. 1650-1700 Collection Victoria and Albert Gold-plated silver, silver, nautilus shell Museum, London, inv. 570- Collection MAS, collection Applied Arts 1871 and History (Vleeshuis), inv. AV.1907

The art of engraving gemstones In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, can be traced back to ancient the nautilus shell was much sought after Greece in the eight century BC by collectors for their art and curiosity and even earlier. Techniques cabinets. The scientific and artistic interest passed down to the Egyptians in this sort of naturalia and artificialia and then to the Romans. There started around 1500, with the discovery were major revivals of interest in of the New World. Stripped of the matte engraved gems in Europe during outer layer, the shiny nacreous core with its

30 beautiful iridescent colours was set attaching to a bandolier, a type of sling in a silver mount and transformed worn over the shoulder or around the waist, into a fine goblet. The nacreous from which hung the various accessories inside of the outer layer was used required for a weapon including spanners as a chalice. for the mechanism, measured charges, The shell of this nautilus goblet powder flasks and priming flasks. is engraved with scenes from Like the pistols and guns that everyday life, such as a ball game. accompanied them, decorated flasks were The shell is mounted on a silver, costly items. Inlaid firearms and flasks partly gold-plated base in the reflected the owners’ status and were kept shape of a mermaid. as much for display as for use. Daggers, firearms, gunpowder flasks and stirrups 135 Octave Landuyt (b. 1922, Ghent) worn with the most expensive clothing The Levy (pendant and two projected an image of the fashionable earrings) man-at-arms. Yellow gold, 16 topazes, 189 brilliants, 13 sapphires 137 Silver popinjay Collection Octave Landuyt, Master with crossed sticks, represented by WM Gallery Leuven, ca. 1665-1671 Silver, marked on each wing 136 Powder flask Collection Axel Vervoordt School of Eliseus Libearts, Company, inv. A1207.159 Southern Netherlands, ca. 1560 Velvet covered wood mounted 138 Salamander-shaped pendant with gilt embossed iron with Western Europe, late 16th century etched and gilt mounts Enamel, gold, pearls, emerald Collection Victoria and Albert Collection Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum, London, inv. 681- London, Salting Bequest, inv. M.537- 1864 1910

Firearms became more and more The body of this salamander consists of a sophisticated in the course of the large ‘baroque’ or irregular-shaped pearl. sixteenth century. They required a Baroque pearls presented the jewellers number of accessories to load and with an opportunity to demonstrate their operate them. The main charge, skill at adapting an object formed by placed in the barrel with the shot, nature to the requirements of Renaissance was carried in the powder flask. fashion. White pearls set in mounts Smaller priming flasks contained became the height of fashion in the late fine-grain powder for priming the sixteenth century and irregular-shaped pans of wheel-lock firearms. This specimens were as highly prized as flask has two suspension rings for perfectly spherical ones.

30 31 The belief that the salamander, the vessel, whereas in Gothic vessels the a small amphibious creature circles or bubbles are arranged around the resembling a lizard, was impervious centre, and either they are all of the same to fire and could extinguish flames size or they are arranged from small to was recorded by Aristotle and large. Pliny. It became an attribute of In the seventeenth century, tazzas were fire personified and as such was frequently depicted on still lifes, with fruits associated with the condition of the or sweets. A painting by Willem Claesz. ardent lover. This jewel may well Heda (b. 1594) in the Museum Boijmans have been an expensive love token van Beuningen in Rotterdam features a given to a man or a woman. tazza with a similar wave pattern, but the cuppa is higher. 139 Guilded tazza Master with the uncial M, 140 Octave Landuyt (b. 1922, Ghent) Antwerp, 1548-1549 Pearl Home for Initiated (pendant) Silver Yellow gold, miniature on ivory, 15 pearls, Collection DIVA, inv. S79/356 shark teeth Collection Octave Landuyt, represented In the renaissance, silver tazzas, by WM Gallery drinking vessels mounted on a stem and foot, were made in series Since 1957 Octave Landuyt has created for court banquets, as diplomatic jewels that show his love of meticulous gifts, as lottery prizes or as trophies work. He combines precious metals and at contests for archers and gemstones with naturalia such as shark rhetoricians. The cuppa was often teeth, beetles and ivory. His jewellery refers chiselled or engraved with narrative to the symbolism of ancient cultures. They scenes. In 1548-1549, the Antwerp surprise us because of the materials used, master with the uncial M (or and the grandeur of the strange miniature trident) decorated this tazza with a portraits is truly remarkable. repetitive pattern of pointed waves of equal height that generate a rich play of colours when wine is poured in them. The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg possesses a simpler version of this tazza, dating from 1564-1565 and made by the master with the crowned castle. A fountain with central spouters is likely to have inspired the motif. The drops or bubbles ripple in equal groups towards the edge of

32 141 Eglon Hendrik van der Neer (b. 1635/36 - d. 1703) La grande dame: A Lady and Other Figures in an Interior 1665 Oil on canvas Collection Bob Haboldt, Amsterdam

Eglon Hendrik van der Neer painted an elegant young woman surrounded by status symbols. According to seventeenth-century standards, the large mirror is huge, and a tapestry decorates the wall. The oriental rug dangling from the railing adds an exotic touch to the scene, like the chained monkey the woman is looking at. But what really catches the eye, is her sumptuous, fashionable attire. The satin dress catches the light and contrasts with the shady background. Van der Neer has used silver in the undermost layer of paint to enhance this effect. The woman’s jewels also catch our attention. She is wearing a pearl necklace, pear-shaped pearl eardrops and two bracelets with pearls, and a matching brooch.

142 Jan Fabre (b. 1958, Antwerp) Heilige pillendraaier met wandelstok (Scarabaeus sacer with Cane) 2012 Bronze Collection Angelos bvba

32 33 PASSAGEWAY II 2 In this passageway, exceptional objects from all corners of the globe are displayed. Indeed, the power of art is without temporal or spatial limits.

143 Head ornament with human face which resorted to witchcraft (buchi) and Calima culture, Central Columbia, sorcery (masende) to assert their political 100 BC-1000 AD and economic power. For the Songye, the Hammered gold bifwebe masks embody bizarre creatures. Collection Ministry of the Flemish The wooden masks were attached to Community, Collection Paul and costumes made of knotted raffia. Their Dora Janssen-Arts, inv. MAS. most conspicuous feature are the linear IB.2010.017.146 striations, which imitate the fur, spines or skin of animals such as the zebra, 144 Head of a Buddha harnessed bushbuck, porcupine or snake. Java, probably Candi Plaosan In the years following independence, temple, Borobudur style, 9th the bifwebe performances developed century in two directions: as a popular form of Volcanic stone entertainment and as a performance of Collection Axel & May Vervoordt secret associations. Foundation, inv. AINV.2373 146 Head of a Japanese Lohan 145 Mask (Kifwebe) Japan, 15th-16th century Luba/Songye people, Democratic Wood, lacquer Republic of the Congo, early 20th Collection Axel & May Vervoordt century Foundation, inv. AINV.1276 Wood, pigment Collection MAS, collection Africa, This Japanese head of a lohan was used inv. AE.0335 during festivals, when it was placed on a dressed puppet to be the focus of the Masks with outspoken geometric participants’ meditation and prayers. It features and finely striated faces was carved with great care and attention are called bifwebe (sing. kifwebe). to detail and is endowed with a gentle With the Songye and Luba they contemplative expression. Its mouth is set belong to secret associations of in a slight smile and the oblique eyes are men (Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe) that half open to show the black pupils. served the rulers. At performances, The term lohan is the Chinese translation the masked men were the visible of arahat. In Theravada Buddhism, the representatives of the ruling elite, lohan is one who has followed the Eightfold

34 Path and has achieved deliverance of this earthly existence. In him the asavas—the craving for sensual pleasures, earthly existence, ignorance and wrong views—are gone. He is subject to no more rebirths and karma. The lohan are known for their great wisdom, courage and spiritual power.

34 35 ROOM III 3 You are invited to walk in meditative silence through the labyrinth with tokonomas, or platforms (toko) for the limited emptiness (ma). In Japanese, there are many words to describe the different sorts of emptiness: MA: the space in-between, without contents. MU: nought, the nothingness, zero, the creative emptiness from which everything originates. KU (SUNYATA): the ultimate reality, stripped of the ego, the ultimate wisdom: the void.

147 Lucio Fontana (b. 1899, Rosario 150 Rough diamond de Santa Fé - d. 1968, Varese) 835 carat Concetto Spaziale Democratic Republic of the Congo 1956 Collection Diamond Trading NV Aniline on canvas Collection Rira, Cologne This rough diamond is composed of lots of small crystals, which are easily seen with 148 Gotthard Graubner (Erlbach, 1930 the naked eye because they absorb and - Insel Hombroich, 2013) diffuse light. Untitled (Kissenbild) Polycrystalline diamonds are not suitable 1983-1984 for cutting into gems, but their hardness Oil on Perlon and foam-filled makes them useful for industrial purposes, canvas for example for cutting. Collection of the Estate of This diamond was mined from alluvial Gotthard Graubner deposits in Mbuji Maji in the province of Courtesy Axel Vervoordt Gallery East Kasaï in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this region each year a tenth 149 Günther Uecker (b. 1930, of the global weight of industrial diamond Wendorf) is mined. Analphabetisches Monument (Illiterate Monument) 151 St. Anne and Virgin Mary 1978-1980 Normandy, ca. 1500 Paper, glue, nails Painted limestone Collection of the Artist Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, A1015.060

36 152 Linga or Lingam Because of its absence of warmth, black Thailand, 10th-11th century AD is without any reverberations and absorbs Sandstone all life. In Black Space, different shades of Collection Axel & May Vervoordt black seem to vibrate and sway back and Foundation, inv. A1107.222 forth, in such a sophisticated way that the viewer has to look twice in order to 153 Jef Verheyen (b. 1932, Itegem - d. perceive them. 1984, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt) Zwarte Ruimte (Black Space) 154 Christian Megert (b. 1936, Bern) 1959-1960 Transparent (Homage to Jef Verheyen) Oil on canvas 1982 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Wood, mirror and acrylic Foundation, inv. A0614.103 Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, inv. A0215.126 Jef Verheyen is known as a painter of light and colour, but Christian Megert, member of the ZERO he was also inspired and guided movement, began his artistic career with by the principles of geometry. In monochrome collages and diagrams, accordance with theories about followed by the paper grid pictures in black the golden ratio and mathematical and white. Soon he developed an interest proportions, Verheyen wanted in incorporating light and mirrors into his his paintings to emerge from the sculptures and installations, which became wall, like a window, and often his hallmark. Megert’s sculptures are based used contrasting frames for every on abstract-concrete forms he creates with period. In his sketches and studies, different materials, such as glass, granite Verheyen reveals the compositional and marble, all of which, because of their principles behind his paintings. polished and reflecting surface, allow the He aspired to transcend the ambient light to be captured and reflected materiality of colour and achieve in the surrounding space. He uses mirrors effects beyond objective reality, to create ‘infinity boxes’, which create and he sought to use geometric the illusion of an infinite space without structures to represent universally beginning or end. Overall, the mirror is ordered connections. Verheyen was used throughout his oeuvre in combination especially attracted by the colour with lights or wood, as is the case in this black: black is a magic substance, work, Transparent. The work is conceived a compact primal matter that also as an homage to Jef Verheyen, a friend and emits and absorbs light. At the fellow member of ZERO. For Megert, the end of the 1950s, he painted a lot mirror sculpture not only reflects a certain of black monochrome paintings, space or light, but becomes a place for which he referred to as Schwarz contemplation as well. darstellen (depicting black).

36 37 155 Yun Hyong-Keun (b. 1928, Miwon - d. 2007, Seoul) Burnt Umber & Ultramarine 1973 Oil on hempen canvas Collection Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, inv. A0814.013

Yun Hyong-Keun, former member of Korean art movement Dansaekhwa, became best known for his umber and blue paintings. Yun’s inspiration came from nature when he witnessed a tree and its roots dissolving into the soil of a mountain. Strongly impressed by this scene, Yun decided to capture the essence of nature in his work. Honesty and truthfulness of nature gave way to muted, quiet colours, and a simple composition of bold square fields in earthly shades. Over time, the artist reduced his colour palette to ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Yun applied the heavily diluted paint directly onto the hempen canvas on top of each other. Due to the properties of the paint and hemp, the paint is absorbed quickly into the canvas, resulting in blurred edges along the stretcher bars. Different rates of colour absorption are visible, as each brush stroke is unique. The process is very natural and organic, and refers to the magnitude of nature’s wonder and providence and the passage of time.

38 38 39 Colophon

This exhibition guide was published on Lighting: Chris Pype the occasion of the exhibition Soclage: Version Bronze Room of Wonder I: Axel Vervoordt Art handling: AORTA and logistics team DIVA, Antwerp Axel Vervoordt N.V. 19.10.2018 - 28.4.2019 Graphic design: Studio Luc Derycke and Studio Louise Mertens Exhibition produced by Technical consultant: Robby Timmermans De Museumstichting SON. Condition check: Bettina Bouttens and Fien Lettany Chairman: Luk Lemmens Vice chairwomen: Caroline Bastiaens & Bie DIVA Team De Graeve Director: Walter Rycquart Board of Directors: Yolande Avontroodt, Exhibitions team: Romy Cockx and Leonie Bert Corluy, Monica De Coninck, Maerevoet Lebuïn D’Haese, Erik Dralans, Joris Team collection: Carl De Smit, Arendine Giebens, Bob Hulstaert, Mieke Renders, Martens, Wim Nys, Kristina Valiulis, Ann Christian Salez, Verbecque Sepideh Sedaghatnia, Manfred Sellink, Communication and public activities: Els Ingrid Stevens, Manuela Van Werde Crollet, Suzanne De Lange, Tom Iriks, General Director: Walter Rycquart Lieselot Jonckheere, Veronica Podkolzina, Rebecca Roskam, Leen Thielemans With the support of: Library: An Labis and Giacomo Visini AWDC, the city of Antwerp, Administration: Daniëlle Serré, Wim Toerisme Vlaanderen and Umicore Verhulst, Koen Waterschoot Front desk: Katelijne Decraene, Maaike Curator: Axel Vervoordt Delsaerdt, Raphaël Lauwers, Soun Liekens Michelle Suykerbuyk, Lieve Van Looveren Co-curators: Romy Cockx en Anne-Sophie Logistics: Stéphane Keersmaekers and Dusselier Henk Van Genderen Security Team: Marc Brosens, Kaatje Exhibition design: Tatsuro Miki en Charles Claes, Patrick Dhondt, Walter Geldolf, Gert Van Canneyt Govaerts, May Hillen, Maria Janssens, Raf Lippens, Ronny Mewis, Marianne Scholten, Ilse Van De Weyer, Sven Wendrickx Museum shop: Dennis en Stefan Leemans

40 Team Axel Vervoordt NV: Permanent lenders: collection King Administrator: Greet Ascrawat Baudouin Foundation - Fund Christian Logistics: Lieven Anseeuw, Tine Anseeuw Bauwens, collection King Baudouin and Valentina Tyuleneva Foundation Administrative coördination: Sue Annotations: Romy Cockx, Els De Vanschoubrouck Palmenaer, Annelien De Troij, Annemie Devos, Anne-Sophie Dusselier, Mireille Holsbeke, Olivier Lambert, Leonie With special thanks to: Maerevoet, Wim Nys, Veerle Pauwels Translations: Dirk Verbiest Lenders: MAS Antwerp, MoMu Antwerp, Musea © 2018 for this publication Bruges - Groeningemuseum, Museum All rights reserved Plantin-Moretus, Province of Antwerp, Victoria and Albert Museum London Publisher: Walter Rycquart, DIVA, Private lenders: Gildekamersstraat 9, 2000 Antwerpen Angelos bvba, Otto Boll, Georges Cuyvers, Studio Wim Delvoye, Diamond Trading NV, Pascal Entremont, Estate Gotthard Graubner, Bob Haboldt Amsterdam, Anish Kapoor Studio, Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Octave Landuyt represented by WM Gallery, RIRA collection, Cathérine Rochtus, Günther Uecker, Octave Vandeweghe, Diane Venet, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation, Axel Vervoordt Company, Wouters & Hendrix Jewelry

and all private lenders who wish to remain anonymous.

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