Ref.11372
Gabriel VIARDOT (1830-1906) - Japanese style shelf unit with dragon and Foo dog

Stamped "G. VIARDOT". This cabinet with shelves is signed by the Parisian cabinetmaker Gabriel Viardot and has a rich japanese style decor: dragon and Foo dog in polished varnished bronze, inlaid ivory, bone and mother of pearl decorated with flowering branches and birds. It opens with three doors and a drawer. It is surmounted by an important Foo dog in polished varnished bronze, which is one of Gabriel Viardot's trademarks. Its asymmetrical construction is characteristic of the creations of the Parisian cabinetmaker. The composition thus alternates solid elements and empty spaces. The central leaf is adorned with a carved and inlaid mother-of-pearl panel from Tonkin.

Ref.13576
Gallé for l'Escalier de Cristal, Ceramic covered pot adorned with a Foo dog on the lid taking the traditional shape of Chinese perfume burner, circa 1870

This ceramic pot with a lid takes the shape of a traditionnal Chinese perfume burner without having the function as it is not pierced. It was made by Charles Gallé (1818 – 1902) or his son Emile (1846 – 1904) for the maison l'Escalier de Cristal in the second half of the 19th century and more precisely in the 1870's as indicates a torn label under a similar perfume burner on which we can read the names Pannier et Lahoche and the address of the store from 1872. We can think this ceramic imitating a perfume burner Nous pouvons was made by Gallé as a similar model, with an identical shape but a different decor, is indexed in the Emile Gallé collection of the Musée d'Orsay, and bearing his signature. Emile Gallé was making ceramics with his father Charles Gallé for the Saint-Clément earthenware factory from 1864 and was part of the many artists that have made models for the maison l'Escalier de Cristal. Thus, it seems very liekly that his father could have done it too. Our ceramic, by its decor, testifies the taste for the Chinese art and the way they have inspired the creation of European art objects. Indeed, as for many artists, the Chinese esthetic has marked the production of l'Escalier de Cristal. Thus, the Parisian artists have been asked by the store to produce works in the Chinese style by intrepeting the models and adapting them to the European taste. Our perfume burner rests on three feet. The belly is adorned with a frieze, as the birth of the neck on which we can see a Ruyi frieze. The neck is adorned with a Ba gua trigram - fundamental philosophical concept of the Old China - and flanked with two curved handles. The lid takes the shaped of Foo dog.

Ref.13537
F. BARBEDIENNE - Small bronze inkwell with a cloisonne decor

This small bronze inkwell with cloisonne enamel decoration made circa 1860 is the work of Ferdinand Barbedienne, bronze maker and founder of the famous 19th century foundry of the same name. The decor seems to have been imagined by the designer Constant Sevin. We owe to the associations of the two men – which has lasted for more than thirty years, between 1855 and 1888 – an important collection of works of art and especially vases, showing the same colors and technical. The two men articipate to the reborn of champleve enamel in the middle of the 19th century. he first technical tries of Barbedienne were made near 1858 and four years after he presents in the Great Exhibition of London a stand mainly composed of works of art inlaid of enamels – like the model of our inkwell – which does not leave the critic indifferent. Indeed, we can on its shape and decor a Middle East inspiration but especially eclectic, typical of the artistic trend under the Second Empire.