Wolfers, 147-piece Set, Empire Style, Silver-plated Metal, Bruno Wiskemann, Serves 12

Empire-style silverware set, model 205, created by Wolfers Frères in Brussels in the early 20th century.
Silver-plated metal in very good condition, marketed under the Bruno Wiskemann brand.
147 pieces for 12 people.

This extensive set consists of 147 pieces.

Components:

• 12 dinner forks
• 12 dinner spoons
• 12 dinner knives
• 12 dessert forks
• 12 dessert spoons
• 12 dessert knives
• 12 fish forks
• 12 fish knives
• 12 cake forks
• 10 coffee spoons
• 6 espresso spoons with gold-plated bowls
• 12 matching knife rests

11 serving pieces:

• 1 soup ladle
• 1 fish serving set, consisting of a fork and a knife
• 1 salad serving set, consisting of a fork and a spoon
• 1 pair of sugar tongs
• 1 butter knife
• 1 cold meat fork
• 1 sauce ladle
• 1 large serving spoon
• 1 large serving fork

Model 205 is a creation by Wolfers Frères inspired by the Empire style. Its perfectly symmetrical design incorporates the ornamental motifs characteristic of the early 19th century, notably palmettes and stylized plant motifs. The knives feature a more linear and quadrangular shape than the other pieces of cutlery while retaining the same design—a distinctive feature that directly evokes the shapes of knives used during the Empire period.

This model was originally developed by Wolfers Frères to be crafted in solid silver. Consequently, there are table sets and cutlery pieces of the same model bearing the Wolfers hallmarks, several of which have already passed through our hands.

The marketing of this same model in silver-plated metal under the Bruno Wiskemann brand is part of a particularly interesting chapter in the history of Wolfers Frères. During the interwar period, the Brussels-based firm sought to develop a line of silver-plated metal products to respond to market changes and to a clientele increasingly affected by economic hardship.

Wolfers already had in its workshops all the tools necessary for manufacturing cutlery, as well as the dies for its numerous models made of solid silver. These same dies could therefore be used to produce metal cutlery intended for silver plating, allowing the company to expand into this new line of production without requiring significant industrial investment.

Wolfers was, however, keen to preserve the prestige of its name, which was closely associated with jewelry and solid silver craftsmanship. The silver-plated metal production was therefore not marketed under the Wolfers name, but under that of Bruno Wiskemann, which allowed the company to enter this new market without altering the positioning of the Wolfers Frères brand.

This particular set illustrates this history particularly well: behind the Bruno Wiskemann brand lies the Wolfers Frères Model 205, based on a design also produced by the prestigious Brussels firm in solid silver.

The inclusion of the 12 matching knife rests and 11 serving pieces, as well as the set’s excellent condition, make this 147-piece silverware set particularly complete.