Jules Vermeire, Art Deco mahogany sculpture, 1920s

Great mahogany sculpture of a head with beautiful organic forms, designed by Jules Vermeire in the 1920s. For this work Vermeire was inspired by art from Africa and Oceania. The object is signed with the artist's monogram JV at the bottom. Jules Seraphien Vermeire (1885-1977) was a Belgian sculptor and draughtsman. He learned the art of stone carving at his fathers workshop and visited the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Here he met Chris Lebeau with whom he moved to the Dutch city Haarlem in 1908. Assisted by Lebeau he carved Horn, bone and ivory sculptures, inspired by the work of Mendes da Costa and John Raedecker. After the outbreak of the First World War he made the decision to settle in the Netherlands. He had a preference for rough and unfinished sculptures, but created also more marketable decorative objects. Some of them were executed in glass by the Leerdam factory.