Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.15341

aponesque frame in carved wood and mother-of-pearl marquetry, decorated with a bronze dragon, with its silk painting depicting a winter landscape

Japonisme in French decorative arts

The Japonisme movement, which developed in France from the Universal Exhibitions of 1867 and 1878 onwards, shaped European decorative arts during the late 19th century. Several Parisian workshops, among them Gabriel Viardot and Perret & Vibert, specialised in the production of furniture and decorative objects blending Chinese and Japanese ornamental codes. Stained wood, mother-of-pearl marquetry, chiselled bronzes depicting dragons and chimeras, along with motifs of plum blossom or cranes, characterise this production intended for a wealthy bourgeois clientele.

Description of the work

This Japonesque frame adopts a rectangular shape in stained wood, whose upper and lower transoms rise into recurved points evoking the eaves of Far Eastern pagodas. The structure is articulated by openwork carved panels, in the upper and lower bands, displaying scrolls and Greek fret motifs drawn from the Chinese repertoire. Along the side uprights as well as in the lower band runs a frieze of mother-of-pearl marquetry depicting a flowering plum branch, a recurrent motif of Japanese iconography. The uprights are accented in their upper part by an engraved cartouche in the form of a stylised flame.

At the centre of the upper transom, a small bronze dragon with copper and gilt patina emerges from a wooden cartouche, jaws open, with a long pendulous moustache, its clawed paws resting on the band. At the opposite corner responds a second bronze element depicting the serpentine tail and fins of the creature, suggesting its passage through the frame. The centre houses a silk painting representing a winter landscape in grisaille: snow-covered undergrowth, bare trees, two figures in traditional costume at the foot of the tall trunks. The work is to be restored, the silk showing wear and tears in places.