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.10570
Antique 18th-century fireback with the coat of arms of the Fontaine de Biré family

Rare antique fireback made during the 18th century and bearing the coat of arms of the Fontaine de Bire family : Azure to chevron with two clovers and a sheaf the whole of gold. The Fontaine de Bire family is originating from Anjou, France. One of his most famous representatives, Marie-Sébastien-Charles-François Fontaine de Biré, asked for his bust in marble by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785, which can quite correspond to the date of realization of our fireback. This bust is now preserved at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, USA.

Ref.11465
A pair of ceramic lamps with Japanese women decor

A beautiful pair of Japanese style lamps made out of painted ceramic and gilded bronze . Two japanese women are represented in wearing a traditional costume with fan or umbrella. They are surrounded by plants and insects or birds represented in golden paint, which gives a great preciousness to this pair of lamps. They have two spheres created by la Maison Baccarat. This model is reproduced in the 1907 – 1908 edition of the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat's catalogue with all the prices of the lighting products of the Maison (model E201, p.39).

Ref.11440
Edouard LIEVRE (1828-1886) - A center table with fantastical masks

This center table was designed around 1878 by Édouard Lièvre . Predominant artist of the Japonism in France, Édouard Lièvre experienced two successive professional lives: first as an illustrator, then as an ornamental designer and cabinetmaker, during which time he produced pieces of furniture in a neo-Renaissance style as well as in the Japanese style. Coming from a modest family in eastern France, he began working very early in a lithographic printing house in Nancy before drawing decorative objects for a foundry in the Meuse region. Then he moved to Paris, where he attended the studio of the painter, engraver and lithographer Théodore Valerio. After a trip to Brussels in 1847, he entered the studio of Thomas Couture, academic painter, and he will realize, in watercolor, a copy of the Romans of decadence, noticed by the critic Paul Mantz during the Salon of 1847. Following the donation to the Louvre Museum of the Charles Sauvageot collection, he was commissioned to publish a selection of works: the two volumes appeared in 1863 under the title "Musée impérial du Louvre : Collection Sauvageot dessinée et gravée à l’eau-forte par Édouard Lièvre". He then began "Les Collections célèbres d’œuvres d’art dessinées et gravées d’après les originaux par Édouard Lièvre", which was published in 1866. In 1870, Alfred Darcel, curator of the Louvre's art objects, wrote the introduction of his new book: "Les Arts décoratifs à toutes les époques". Édouard Lièvre worked for various amateurs as well as for works of art editors for which he drew decorative art models. After his death, the two sales (in 1887 and 1890) during which his possessions were dispersed, were a resounding success thanks to the press. This beautiful center table perfectly illustrates the artist mastery and his taste for luxurious materials. He chose rosewood for this piece, rare and precious exotic wood, whose dark color enhances the brilliance of gilded bronze ornaments. Warm tones and purple veining bring nobility and character to the furniture. The legs curved shape is counterbalanced by the straightness of the H stretcher and the apron, thus mixing grace and sobriety. The care given to the details is characteristic of Edouard Lièvre's production who seems to "embroider" the wood by producing openworked patterns with extreme precision. Those which adorn the apron of our table are delicately performed. They link the differents parts of the table by inserting the apron through an elegant stylized flower while extending to the curved corners formed by the legs. These openworked decorations are ornated with arabesques, scrolls and stylized plant elements. They are quite representative of the syncretic aspect of Lièvre’s works which mixes different sources of Western and Eastern inspiration. One can observe the same kind of motifs in Gabriel Viardot’s works, another predominant figure of Japonisme in France, who adorns his furniture with a "lace" of carved wood made in the same spirit, despite some formal differences (of which a more geometric aspect). The apron of our table is adorned with a gilded bronze symbol evoking the shou ideogram, synonymous with longevity. This one is also noticeable on a jardiniere made by Édouard Lièvre for Ferdinand Barbedienne, witness of the vogue for a fantasized Orient and reconstituted through composite elements adapted to Western culture. The tops of the legs are adorned with fantastic masks which are specific to this table model and of which an identical copy is preserved in the Orsay Museum in Paris. These masks represent a creature that could be a lion or an oriental dragon forming a fall decorated with plant scrolls and covering the curve of the leg. The same ornaments are present on the gilded bronzes feet. Gilded bronze cartouches are inserted at regular intervals on the stretcher. The latter is decorated, in its center, with a gilded bronze grooved ball featuring foliages. All these bronze elements are in their original condition, covered with an old gold patina and not re-gilded. A beautiful marble slab is insetted in the table top and framed by a moldered rosewood bordure. This "Brocatelle" marble takes its name from a fabric which name comes from the Italian word broccato, technique of fabric manufacture by the "broaching" process. Particularly fragile and difficult to carve, it is still very popular for its decorative value. It is more specifically a "Spanish Brocatelle" because of its extraction site which is in the Pyrenees. The quality and the beautiful tones of this marble (pale pink jasped with yellow, white and gray) contribute to consider this table as a masterpiece. To date, we know only five tables on the same model and each of them has a different marble top. The one preserved at the Orsay Museum and mentioned above includes a Violet Breccia marble top. The other tables listed (perfectly identical, with the exception of the marble top) are kept in private collections and show other types of marble such as Campan or Sarrancolin. The after death inventory of Édouard Lièvre mentions one of these tables with a marble top made out of Aleppo Breccia

Ref.11426
Maison des Bambous Alfred PERRET et Ernest VIBERT (attributed to) - Beautiful japanese style living room furniture set with dragons and openwork backs of seat

This living room furniture set, consisting of two armchairs and a sofa, was made in the late 19thcentury. Its realization is attributed to the Maison des Bambous by Perret and Vibert Each back of seat, carved and openworked, of Far Eastern influence, is topped by a dragon and enriched by a panel decorated with butterflies and flowers in mother-of-pearl marquetry. The armrests are carved with dragon heads. Each seat rests on four claw feet connected by a stretcher with openwork decoration. Perret and Vibert's Maison des Bambous was set up in 1872 at number 33 rue du Quatre-Septembre. Specialised in the production of small furniture and seats made out of bamboo and wicker, they quickly turned towards the production of Japanese and Chinese inspired carved wood furniture. Around 1910, they opened a branch at 170, boulevard Haussmann and kept it open until 1994, the year that Maison des Bambous permanently closed.

Ref.11295
PERRET & VIBERt (attributed to) - Japanese style coat hanger

This important coat and hat rack, made out of carved sycamore, was made in the 19th century. Its realization is attributed to the parisian store Perret et Vibert. Topped by an imposing dragon, it has many hooks and a tablet to hold umbrellas. The asymmetry of the furniture, the openwork decoration and the dragon are quite characteristic of the so-called "Japanese style" furniture made at the end of the 19th century, notably by the Maison des Bambous by Perret and Vibert

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.12697
Albert CHEURET (1884 - 1966) (in the taste of), set of 5 alabaster and patinated bronze wall sconces, late 20th century

Set of five oval alabaster wall sconces and patinated bronze foliated decoration realized at the end of the 20th century in the taste of Albert Cheuret (1884 - 1966). This artist realized throughout his career furniture and decorative objects but is especially known for his alabaster and patinated bronze lamps which mix Art Nouveau, Belle Epoque and Art Deco inspirations.

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.

Ref.15238
Maison des Bambous, Alfred PERRET and Ernest VIBERT (attributed to) - Japanese sideboard with fan-shaped mirror

Ref.13928
C. GASPARINI, Inlaid Wall Cabinet Decorated With A Virgin And Child

This wall cabinet in wood, ivory, bone, brass, and tin marquetry was crafted in the last quarter of the 19th century in Milan by G. Casparini, as indicated by the artist's signature. Characteristic of the Umbertino style developed in Northern Italy by cabinetmakers like Adriano Brambilla, this small piece of furniture is adorned with delicate Neo-Renaissance decor. The central panel features the Madonna dell’Ulivo by Nicolo Barabino from 1887, while the cherub from Raphael's Sistine Madonna decorates the pediment. G. Casparini delivers here a remarkable example of the "stile Umbertino," characterized by its richly ornate decoration typical of Italian eclecticism.

Ref.5002
Napoleon III style mantel decorated with garlands of flowers carved in wood

Ref.11889
JULIUS GROSCHKUS (active in the second half of the 19th century), Walnut grandfather clock with exotic decoration

This walnut grandfather clock was made by the workshop of Julius Grotschkus in Berlin. This German master cabinetmaker of the second half of the 19th century is renowned for the quality and variety of his historicist creations. Supported by two atlantes with African features, this mahogany grandfather clock has two gilt-bronze weights. The brass dial is richly decorated with finely incised acanthus leaves. Above the dial, Cupid emerges from the clouds, his left foot on the globe, holding a cup. On either side are two inscriptions: "Time is running out" and "Time heals." The gold background of the engraved composition represents the dawning sunrise, a symbol of the passage of time. The African atlantes supporting the clock's body are of exceptional quality. Positioned on either side of a niche housing the clockwork mechanism's weights, their stooped posture conveys remarkable grace, and their facial features are rendered with lifelike realism. The depiction of this pair underscores the significance of the German Empire's colonial expansion during this period and may suggest that this imposing piece was created for a clientele whose wealth originated in these territories. Julius Groschkus's clientele consisted primarily of an urban bourgeois elite who had amassed fortunes through the rapid industrialization of the German Empire. Groschkus's talent was widely recognized in his time, as evidenced by the plaque affixed to the clock, which mentions his status as a master woodworker, "Hof Tischlermeister."