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Julien-Nicolas RIVART (1802-1867) - Sewing table in blackened pearwood decorated of wild flowers in porcelain marquetry

This elegant sewing table is decorated of flowers in porcelain inlays by Julien-Nicolas Rivart . The latter is the inventor of the porcelain marquetry technique, a unique process, searched for a long time and patented in 1849, he was the only one to master. We have here a graceful example of these rare decorations, with a bouquet of wild flowers.

Ref.13558
Gabriel VIARDOT (attributed to), Large Japonesque Mirror in the shape of a moon crescent with a dragon, second half of the 19th century

This Japanese mirror was probably made by Gabriel Viardot in the late 19th century. A talented woodcarver, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and store in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese furniture”. He won prestigious awards at the 1878, 1889 and 1900 World’s Fairs in Paris, and a gold medal at the Antwerp International Exhibition in 1884. This mirror features deeply Japanese ornamentation. Taking the form of a crescent moon, it is set in a frame adorned with a frieze of cloudy scrolls and vegetal elements. A finely executed dragon seems to emerge from behind the frame, in the hollow part of the crescent moon; resting its clawed paws on the edge of the frame, its spine bristling with spikes, it points a menacing head towards the reflection. Its body seems to disappear behind the frame, only to reappear on the other side, its supple tail adorned with scales, flames and spikes. The dragon is a recurring motif in Gabriel Viardot’s furniture creations. In the lower part of the crescent moon, opposite the fantastic animal, a branch of Japanese pine wraps around the frame. Gabriel Viardot created several mirrors with identical shapes and similar decorations, such as the one in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, featuring two menacing dragons.