Rare Japanese-style Pedestal / Gueridon In Carved Wood By Gabriel Viardot

Carved wooden pedestal table in the Japanese style, stamped by Gabriel Viardot.

Square in shape with a red marble slab, lion paw feet. The spacer and sides of the top are made of carved wooden slabs with openwork Chinese motifs.

Period: 19th century / Napoleon III.
Height: 100 cm. Width / Length: 34 cm.

"Gabriel Viardot began his career as a wood carver in 1849, when he sent some naturalist and animal sculptures to the horticultural exhibition. He was already at the head of a small team of sculptors although he was only 19 years old.

In 1853, he opened a furniture factory and store located at 36 and 38 rue Rambuteau in Paris. At that time, Gabriel worked with his brother, Louis Gustave, under the name "Viardot Frères et Cie". Seven years later, in 1860, he created his own workshop, "G. Viardot", at 5 rue du Grand-Chantier, and took over the management of the family business, which he kept until 1872.

He then decided to devote himself to "Chinese-Japanese style furniture", which he was able to observe in particular at the Universal Exhibition of 1867. His characteristic furniture production was made from lacquered and relief panels sent directly from China or Japan, often decorated with Tonkin mother-of-pearl inlays. The furniture was subsequently embellished with ornamental bronzes, the models of which were all by his hand.

In 1875, Clémence d'Ennery, passionate about the arts of China and Japan, gathered in her private mansion on the former avenue du Bois (now avenue Foch) an exceptional collection of Asian works. This jewel has remained as it was built in 1875, including the rooms where the works from the collection are exhibited. To display them, Clémence d'Ennery had commissioned Viardot to create a large number of display cases, which are still visible today.

Gabriel Viardot participated in the numerous exhibitions that marked the artistic scene of the second half of the 19th century. Each of his participations was crowned with success; he won a silver medal at the 1878 Universal Exhibition, then a gold medal at the Antwerp Exhibition in 1885, and the Paris Exhibition in 1889 and 1900. In the meantime, he also participated in the exhibitions of the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs, where he was placed outside the competition and a member of the jury from 1884.

His work is also mentioned in the Revue des Arts Décoratifs of 1887: "At the forefront of exhibitors of sculpted furniture, it is fitting to place Mr. Viardot (Gabriel), outside the competition as a member of the jury. Mr. G. Viardot, having exhausted the entire series of awards, has not for all that dried up the source of praise. The pieces he exhibits are of a finish and execution which easily explain the general success they meet. Inspired by Chinese and Japanese art, this furniture, adapted to European uses, is far superior, in terms of workmanship, to the original furniture, which most often has only a decorative interest, and whose assemblies are almost always defective; this adaptation is very interesting, because Mr. Viardot knows how to give his furniture a special cachet, while preserving the Asian style. "

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 survived the 19th century without losing any of its quality or reputation thanks to the know-how and ingenuity of its various owners. It was Henry and Georges Pannier, the last owners of the house, who had the idea from 1890 to extend the business to the furniture trade by manufacturing very good reproductions of the 18th century or furniture inspired by the Far East. For their execution, the Pannier brothers collaborated with Parisian craftsmen specialized in a specific technical field and great luxury, like Gabriel Viardot. Indeed, we can read in Henry Pannier's notebooks where part of the production was listed, the name Viardot associated with the designation of certain pieces of furniture.

Viardot organized his succession on December 26, 1890 by creating "G. Viardot et Cie", a company in which he was associated with his two children. When he died in 1906, the latter took over the management of the workshops.