Style Napoleon III / Ref.17255

Julien-Nicolas RIVART (1802-1867) and Pierre-Joseph GUEROU - Pair of Side Cabinets decorated of bouquets in porcelain marquetry

Richly adorned with porcelain marquetry decoration and gilt bronzes, this pair of side cabinets may be considered a masterpiece of Rivart's production and attests to the perfection achieved by the master. The central panels are embellished with a bouquet of flowers rendered from life, whose delicacy of colour contrasts with the black ground. Such a superposition of technical and aesthetic accomplishment confers upon our pieces a striking originality.

Inspired by porcelain plaques set into wooden panels and by Florentine pietra dura mosaics, Rivart reinvented the use of porcelain by inlaying it as a true marquetry. As early as 1849 he filed a patent for this process, thereby securing the exclusive right to this type of decoration.

At the Universal Exhibitions of 1851 and 1855, Rivart exhibited his creations and met with considerable critical and public acclaim. His technique, described by contemporary commentators as « one of the most important innovations for the decoration of furniture », was unanimously praised for the charm it conveyed.

The motifs differ on each element of our pair, evidence of an elaborate ornamental programme: purple lilac, tulip, rose and bindweed on one; white lilac, peony, rose, St John's wort and poppy on the other. The bouquets are of outstanding quality of execution and offer a striking contrast with the deep black of the wood. Echoing the central motif, the side panels are decorated with gilt bronze mounts depicting vases filled with flowers.

The gilt bronze appliqués in the eighteenth-century taste contribute greatly to the chromatic interplay intended by Rivart and Guérou (water-leaf frieze, acanthus, ovolo, scrolls, mascarons, rocaille shell).

The inlaid porcelains are signed and dated « Guérou 1854 ». A painter employed by the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1847 and 1848, Guérou worked with Rivart on several occasions. A specialist in floral paintings on porcelain, he participated in the Salon on multiple occasions between 1836 and 1866. Although his style is readily recognisable, his signature appears only rarely. Only a handful of signed pieces by his hand are known, among them the jewel cabinet of Empress Eugénie (Château de Compiègne), a table preserved at the Murska Sobota Museum (Slovenia), and a violin-shaped flat desk (Galerie Marc Maison).

An exceedingly rare signed work, this pair of side cabinets bears witness to the virtuoso collaboration between Guérou and Rivart – a production that achieved « perfection in the working of cut and inlaid porcelain plaques » according to the report of the international jury at the 1855 Universal Exhibition.

Bibliography:
Marqueteries virtuoses au XIX^e siècle : Brevets d'invention. Rivart, Cremer, Fourdinois, Kayser Sohn et Duvinage, Marc Maison and Emmanuelle Arnauld, Ed. Faton, 2012, pp. 39-40.