Gabriel VIARDOT (1830–1904), in the style of. - Lot 250

Gabriel VIARDOT (1830–1904), in the style of. Display case made of molded, carved, and openwork wood, with beveled glass and Japanese-inspired decoration. The upper section forms a pagoda topped by a patinated bronze dragon. The central section opens via a door panel adorned with a female figure, revealing an interior lined with green velvet and featuring three shelves. The piece rests on a drum-shaped niche, supported by a base with small, curved feet. It opens via a waist-level drawer embellished with inlaid bird and flower motifs. Paris. Late 19th-century Japanese-inspired period H_185 cm W_60 cm D_35 cm Gabriel Viardot (1830–1904) Gabriel Viardot is considered one of the leading figures in Japanese-style furniture, which was in vogue in the late 19th century. Viardot began his career as a woodcarver in 1849 before taking over the family cabinetmaking business in 1861.Around 1865, he moved away from imitations of Renaissance styles and major historical traditions, becoming one of the first to venture into creating furniture in the “Chinese-Japanese style.” The craze was so intense that the term “Japonism,” coined in 1872 by art critic Philippe Burty, was officially established as early as 1878 with its inclusion in Pierre Larousse’s *Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle*, and later in Émile Littré’s work in 1886. And Viardot was one of its leading ambassadors. Viardot’s creations, brimming with imagination, were regularly awarded medals at the World’s Fairs from 1867 to 1900; the jury praised “his Japanese-style furniture, which is always highly interesting both for its style and its flawless craftsmanship.” Her display furniture—showcases and small cabinets—was particularly well represented at a time when the upper middle class was developing a passion for trinkets, objets d’art, and small bronzes Dragons, flowering plants, and Tonkin mother-of-pearl The furniture is, naturally, adorned with bronzes featuring dragon motifs that emerge from a crevice in the piece or cling to a pagoda-shaped cornice… Considered a symbol of good fortune in Asia, this mythical creature was immediately adopted by Viardot, who made it his favorite animal. On display pieces, the dragon is often paired with a motif of palaces, flowering plants, butterflies, and birds, rendered through inlays of Tonkin mother-of-pearl. With Viardot’s inventiveness knowing no bounds, his creativity adapted to several furniture lines marked with stamps featuring different lettering styles—ranging from the most understated to the most elegant—all enclosed within an ellipse. Other pieces of furniture never bore Viardot’s name, as they were marketed by L’Escalier de Cristal, whose cabinetmaker supplied the designs to the famous dealer and publisher. Identifiable by their references in Henri Pannier’s notebooks, these pieces can also be attributed with certainty to the “king of Japonism.” Expert: PEPE Stephane