Gabriel VIARDOT (1830–1904) - Lot 252

Gabriel VIARDOT (1830–1904) A significant set of mahogany bedroom furniture, featuring molded, carved, openwork, engraved, and inlaid details, with a Japanese-inspired design comprising dragons, vases with flowers, birds, clouds, bamboo, rose stems, and cherry tree branches. The set includes a large four-poster bed, a mirrored wardrobe with side shelves, a cabinet with compartments and shelves, a nightstand, a large armchair, and two chairs. Signed GVIARDOT. Paris. Late 19th century. Circa 1895 Bed: 265 x 156 x 208 cm Chair: 8.5 x 43 x 40 cm Wardrobe: 236 x 170 x 54 cm Small table: 65 x 80 x 52 cm Nightstand: 78.5 x 61 x 38 cm Dents and missing pieces. Comparative works: Paris: The Quintessence of 19th-Century Furniture. Christopher Payne. Monelle Hayot Publishing. Pages 538–543. In 1853, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and store located at 36 and 38 Rue Rambuteau in Paris, under the name “Viardot Frères et Cie.” Seven years later, in 1860, he established his own workshop, “G. Viardot,” at 5 Rue du Grand-Chantier, and took over management of the family business, a position he held until 1872. He then decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese-style furniture,” which he had observed in particular at the 1867 World’s Fair. Gabriel Viardot participated in numerous exhibitions that shaped the art scene of the second half of the 19th century. Each of his entries was a resounding success; he won a silver medal at the 1878 World’s Fair, followed by gold medals at the exhibitions in Antwerp in 1885 and in Paris in 1889 and 1900. Buoyed by his success, the Viardot company employed between 90 and 100 cabinetmakers and sculptors—all trained by him—in the mid-1880s. He also employed about twenty subcontractors. In 1885, following his participation in the Antwerp Exhibition, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor. Famous for its production of decorative art objects and, later, furniture, the “Escalier de Cristal” weathered the 19th century without losing any of its quality or reputation, thanks to the expertise and ingenuity of Henry and Georges Pannier, the company’s last owners, who, beginning in 1890, decided to expand the business into the furniture trade by producing pieces inspired by the Far East. To produce these pieces, the Pannier brothers collaborated with Parisian artisans specializing in specific, high-end technical fields, such as Gabriel Viardot. Indeed, Henry Pannier’s notebooks—which cataloged part of the production—mention Viardot’s name in connection with certain pieces of furniture. Expert: Stéphane Pepe. Expert: PEPE Stephane