Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.11261
Gabriel VIARDOT (attributed to), Japanese furniture with mother-of-pearl inlaid panels, late 19th century
Dimensions
Width 32'' ⅝ 83cm
Height 70'' ½ 179cm
Depth: 17'' ¾ 45cm
Origin:
France, 19th century
This Japanese-style piece of furniture is perfectly in keeping with the work of cabinetmaker Gabriel Viardot at the end of the 19th century.
A talented woodcarver, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and shop in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese furniture”, of which this piece is a fine example.
In the lower section, the doors incorporate two imported panels with mother-of-pearl inlays, depicting Sakura and butterflies, symbols of eternity in Far Eastern cultures. The back of the open central section is adorned with a refined bas-relief depicting a tree branch in bloom and a bird in flight. At the top, the asymmetry of the shelves is reminiscent of Japanese cha’dansu (or tea cabinets); some are closed with a mother-of-pearl inlaid panel. The crowning, typical of the artist, takes the shape of a pagoda roof and houses a menacing-looking dragon.
The many carved and mother-of-pearl-inlaid details scattered across the surface of the piece reveal the finesse of Viardot’s work.
Another piece of furniture, a drawing of which is preserved in the artist’s archives, has a very similar crowning.