Ref.17313
Julien-Nicolas RIVART (1802-1867) - Louis XV style table in ebonized pear wood inlaid with porcelain marquetry

Bibliography: Masterpieces of Marquetry in the 19th century. Patents. Rivart, Cremer, Fourdinois, Kayser Sohn et Duvinage, Marc Maison et Emmanuelle Arnauld, Ed. Faton, 2012, p. 35. This superb violin-shaped table in the Louis XV style was decorated with porcelain marquetry by Julien-Nicolas Rivart . The depth of the black color of the wood is heightened by the precious quality of the colors used in the center of the top: a bouquet containing a great variety of flowers (coreopsis, oleander, convolvulus, roses, etc.) was realized in painted porcelain marquetry according to the process invented by Rivart . The artist was especially attentive to the rendering of each flower that was delicately designed without repetition, accentuating the great naturalism of the composition and giving the impression of a real bouquet of flowers set upon the table. The inlay of the porcelain pieces, notably for the leaves, is directly inspired by Florentine hardstone marquetry and this technique heightens the realistic aspect of the motifs while creating a striking contrast between the different shades of light and dark. Rivart made several tables decorated using porcelain marquetry and this piece owes its great originality to the motif of a bouquet placed on the center of a table that is large in size. This piece differs from other tables by Rivart where garlands of flowers run along the top, as on the one made for the Count of Manneville, kept at the Cité de la Céramique de Sèvres. The artist who painted the porcelain flowers for this table did not sign them. However, it is possible to attribute the work to Pierre-Joseph Guérou , a painter who worked at the Sèvres porcelain factory and whose signature appears on several pieces of furniture by Rivart , such as the jewel cabinet at the Château de Compiègne. As he specialized in painted porcelain plaques, he participated several times in the salons between 1836 and 1865. The treatment of the flowers, in fading tones, seems characteristic of Guérou's painting and attests to the complete mastery of the artist. Inspired by the porcelain plaques fashionable in the 18th century, as well as by Florentine hardstone mosaics, Julien-Nicolas Rivart understood how to develop an innovative technique that totally revitalized the use of porcelain by inlaying it as true marquetry, where each element is independent. Rivart 's porcelain marquetry won awards several times at international exhibitions and this process was particularly praised by critics – French as well as English. Rivart's technique, considered "one of the most important innovations for the decoration of furniture" was universally acclaimed for its charm. Rivart took out a patent on his invention in 1849, thus keeping the exclusivity on this process and producing limited quantities of exceptional pieces of furniture. The beauty of materials, the delicacy of colors and a rare decorative concept are the factors that make this table an exceptional piece of furniture and bears witness to this virtuoso process that spreads over the surface of furniture "the magic that comes from a bouquet of kaolin" (Auguste Luchet, L'Art industriel à l'Exposition de 1867).

Ref.11360
Gabriel VIARDOT (attributed to) - Asymmetrical cabinet with rich engraved and sculpted decoration of extreme oriental inspiration

The realization of this cabinet is attributed to Gabriel Viardot, famous parisian cabinetmaker, specialized in chinese and japanese style furniture in the second half of the 19th century. Opens on the left side to a small door and a drawer with a gilded bronze grip on which a shelf with an openwork decoration of interlacing is supported. The door leaf is decorated with a large vase decorated with mother-of-pearl and bone inlay and adorned with carved flowers. On the right side a large door with a mirror and a richly carved pediment.

Ref.12698
Roy ADZAK (1927 - 1987) (in the taste of), Set of four bronze sconces representing a female face, late 20th century

Set of four bronze wall sconces made at the end of the 20th century, in the taste of Roy Adzak, British painter and sculptor. These four sculpted wall lights represent a female face

Ref.12995
Charles-Guillaume DIEHL, Pair of Pedestals in wood and Bronze, circa 1870

This pair of black lacquered tripod stands with numerous finely chiseled bronze ornaments was crafted by cabinetmaker Charles Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) during the 1870s. The stands consist of a small tabletop surrounded by a serrated decorative edge, resting on three curving legs. These legs, highlighted with numerous gilded bronze ornaments, including lion paws at their lower ends, are connected by a stretcher. Three gilded bronze beasts support the tabletop, each standing on a wooden block adorned with bronze decorations on the sides and inside – including rosettes – that hold a turned wooden spindle finished with a bronze tip. The stretcher features additional bronze ornaments, including three spindles each holding a ring and lion mascarons between them. At the center of the stretcher, the cabinetmaker added a wooden pyramid also adorned with bronze. The base connecting the three legs includes gilded bronze ornaments at each end, as well as a central pinecone finial. Trained in marquetry, cabinetmaker Charles Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) specialized in creating small pieces of furniture made of rare woods and adorned with refined and exceptionally luxurious bronze decorations. In the 1860s, Diehl began to design furniture in a more personal style, employing an ornamental vocabulary inspired by ancient Greek and Egyptian art, presenting a decorative grammar bordering on the fantastic, as seen here with the hybrid sphinxes. He participated in several World’s Fairs, including those of 1867, 1873 – where he won a progress medal – and Paris in 1878, where he was excluded from competition due to his prior successes. Diehl’s style evolved over time. Initially focused on furniture inspired by the 18th century, veneered with precious woods or in the Boulle marquetry style, his work underwent a transformation in the 1860s. From this period onward, Charles Diehl created furniture in a more distinctive style, blending neo-Greek and neo-Medieval ornamental vocabularies into a decorative grammar that pushed the boundaries of the fantastical. For the 1867 World’s Fair, he collaborated with renowned artists known for their imagination, such as sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) and designer and ornamentist Jean Brandely (active between 1867 and 1873). During this event, he earned a silver medal for a series of caskets, including a Neo-Renaissance ebony casket adorned with bronzes and oxidized silver bas-reliefs featuring salamanders, as well as another in blue marble with gilded bronzes, purchased by Napoleon III for his cousin, Princess Mathilde. He also won a bronze medal, which he refused, for three pieces of furniture: a large table, an Etruscan-style bookcase, and the coin cabinet now housed at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Due to stylistic similarities with certain works by Emmanuel Frémiet, it appears that the meeting between the two artists – which later led to collaborations – played a key role in the stylistic evolution of Charles Diehl. This marked the beginning of a distinctive artistic output, highly recognizable within Parisian cabinetmaking of the second half of the 19th century.