OUR HISTORY
We’re all somewhat familiar with these stories of world-known companies that started out in garages. In a much smaller way, we have a story like that too. It all started with a spark of creativity and imagination in a tiny space. Not a garage, but a small family glass shop in the heart of Ghent. And we can trace our roots back to before Belgium even became a country.
It’s 1826, and as you’re strolling in the narrow streets of Ghent, following your daily route, you see that a new shop has opened. You take a curious glimpse at the sign above the door, where you can read the family name “Meyvaert”. As you step inside, you have to be careful at every turn, as all around you are glimmering glass objects and mirrors. Daylight is streaming in through the large display windows and is bouncing back and forth between ornate framed mirrors and Val Saint Lambert crystal glass vases and decanters. Dark wood floorboards and shelves make the glass look even brighter by contrast ... This is what the original family shop may have looked like back then.
Image: Goudenleeuwplein in Ghent, Belgium. On the left, you can see the storefront of the Meyvaert family glass shop, located in the Donkersteeg. © Collectie Archief Gent, SCMS_FO_1581
Over the decades that followed, the Meyvaerts gradually began producing and finishing mirrors in-house, alongside the shop’s daily rhythm of customers coming and going. The family became known not only as a manufacturer of mirrors, but also as a glass specialist. If you needed any beveling, silvering or engraving done, or were looking for frames, stained glass or window glass, you were at the right address.
By the turn of the century, you could still walk into the Ghent shop as always, but you would sense that the business was changing. The work was becoming bigger than a shop could hold. What once happened behind the counter now needed more space and more hands. And a steadier, more industrial rhythm. In the early 1900s, the family’s mirror factory took on a name of its own: ‘Spiegelfabriek’.
Image: Scanned advertisement in the "Flandre Libérale" newspaper from 1899, reflecting Meyvaert’s early expertise in glass and mirrors.
The turning point in our history arrived in the 1960s with a visit from the Dean of St. Bavo’s Cathedral. On his travels, he had been inspired by how historical artifacts were displayed in glass cubes. He wanted something similar for his own religious ornaments. He was quite proud of his collection and eager to share it with visitors, without compromising the safety of his valuables. He had heard of the Meyvaerts and their expertise in glass solutions, and he turned to them for advice. Paul Meyvaert, who lead the family business at the time, embraced the idea of creating a display case.
The project was a success. Before long, you could turn to Meyvaert for showcases designed to present precious objects behind glass.
Image: St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, the birthplace of Meyvaert’s first museum display case in the 1960s. © Rutger van der Maar
The earliest display cases were simple: four glass sides and a glass “roof,” resting on a steel base. Access to the inside of the case was straightforward, often through a sliding panel. This solution was in fact inspired by sliding office windows, to separate staff from their customers.
As the designs evolved, they became more refined. Lighting could now be integrated into the top construction of the showcase, allowing for a more object-focused presentation. Inside, the objects were displayed on fabric-covered plinths, often soft felt.
Over time, the cases became taller and more versatile, with subtle internal supports that made room for multiple objects. They also expanded into many different types and sizes, offering museums a greater variety of showcases to choose from.
Image: As an illustrative example of early museum presentation principles; a display case drawing from a publication by the South Kensington Museum (1872) – Now the Victoria & Albert Museum.
By the late 1980s, museums were paying closer attention to what happens inside a display case over time. Not only did they want to present the objects in an engaging way, but they also wanted to preserve them for the future. Light, materials, conservation, protection … all became part of the conversation. Meyvaert started developing showcases with stronger conservation performance, including laminated glass for UV protection.
From then on, each improvement aimed to raise the triptych of presentation, preservation and protection: aesthetic performance, conservation purposes and collection security.
With each passing decade, the Meyvaert showcase solutions became more advanced and the projects more ambitious. The scope expanded from individual cases to full museum showcase projects. Storytelling and visitor experience came hand in hand with an overarching harmonious exhibition design. Meyvaert’s first major museum project was the Imperial War Museum in London, completed in 1991. Uniquely shaped showcases, a custom-engineered opening system and challenging lighting arrangements characterised the new First World War Galleries.
Image: Photo of the Imperial War Museum, London, UK – from an old Meyvaert catalogue, representing early Meyvaert museum display cases, evolving towards integrated lighting and object‑focused presentation.
This was followed by projects for the Musée de la Grande Guerre in Péronne, France, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and the Egyptian Galleries in the Louvre, Paris. Each one expanding both our technical expertise and our international reach.
Image: Custom museum showcases by Meyvaert at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK.
In 2013, Meyvaert became part of the Haerens Group, and our portfolio continued to grow with landmark institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the UAE, the House of European History in Brussels, Belgium, and our groundbreaking oxygen-free showcases at Museum Kaap Skil in Texel, the Netherlands.
Image: Precision‑engineered glass showcases at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, part of Meyvaert’s international portfolio.
In 2022, we returned to the location where our very first showcase was born: St. Bavo’s Cathedral, where visitors can marvel at the world-renowned Mystic Lamb masterpiece in an impressive, temperature-controlled display case designed, produced and installed by Meyvaert.
Image: The temperature‑controlled display case for the Mystic Lamb at St. Bavo’s Cathedral, designed and installed by Meyvaert. © Fred Debrock
These milestone projects have also been serving as building blocks for new challenges. Eager to learn and push boundaries, our teams have given and keep giving their very best at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C., the Zayed National Museum and Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and many more projects.
Image: Meyvaert museum showcases at the Art Institute of Chicago, reflecting decades of technical and conservation expertise. © Charles G Young, Interactive Design Architects
Exactly 200 years after the very first Meyvaert glass shop opened its doors, our portfolio and expertise keep growing. And so does our team. Not only in numbers, but also in their experience and professionalism.
Are you interested in meeting our team and partnering with us? We look forward to working alongside you to transform your ideas into reality.