Ref.10945
Pierre-Ferdinand DUVINAGE (1823-1876) - Pedestal table with Japanese decoration of "cloisonné" marquetry

Louis XVI style pedestal table made around 1850 by Pierre-Ferdinand Duvinage. This is a fairly classic style furniture in the drawing and cabinetmaking work, except for the table top which is really original. Indeed, this one has an original decoration of Japanese style marquetry, partitioned by brass wires. Unlike other better-known works by Duvinage, the background is not made out of ivory but wood. A pheasant is sitting on a leafy branch. A fan and a small aquatic scene with fishes made out of mother-of-pearl complete the decor. The great originality of this piece is double. First, the mix of styles with a very traditional furniture in its form and decor, except for the table top. This one shows a Japanese iconography. This is a characteristic work of Duvinage especially in the use of a "cloisonné" marquetry. The second originality of this work lies in the very corpus of the artist, since it is a rare example of production on a wood background, not ivory, as it is usually the case with Duvinage.

Ref.11072
Julien-Nicolas RIVART (1802-1867) - Small bedside table decorated with wisteria in porcelain marquetry

This elegant bedside table is adorned of flowers inlays, which great naturalism illustrates the technical mastery of Julien-Nicolas Rivart, inventor of porcelain marquetry, for which he registered a patent in 1849. Wisterias are thus blooming in fresh colors on the surface of the wood, enhancing the preciosity of this work.

Ref.12793
Gabriel VIARDOT - Beautiful square stand with a coiling dragon

This beautiful stand was made of tainted sycamore circa 1880-1890 by the famous french furniture maker of the late 19th century, Gabriel Viardot (1830-1904) as indicates the signature. It is composed of a square shelf with a sculpted decor of abstract geometrical motifs typical of the Asian art. The openwork base receives a beautiful coiled dragon in gilt bronze with a remarkable carving. The square bottom with steps rests on four feet. Gabriel Viardot became famous from the 1870 with his production of furniture inspired by the Asiatic ones, of which he makes his specialty. He takes his inspiration from the 1867 Worlds's Fair where Japan participates for the first time. His very characteristic furniture production was sometimes inlaid with Tonkin mother-of-pearl, but always made with tinted sycamore wood.

Ref.14920
Taxil DOAT for the SÈVRES Manufacture, Oxblood Red Glazed Porcelain Jardinière, 1907

This large jardiniere in glazed red porcelain was created by Taxile Doat in 1907 in his workshop in Sèvres. A talented ceramist, Taxile Doat worked for the Sèvres manufactory between 1877 and 1905, while maintaining a personal workshop in Paris, and later in Sèvres. He taught ceramics in the United States between 1909 and 1915. Influenced by East Asian arts, he presents here a vase with a very refined form and decor. Its shape and color echo Asian pieces such as an 18th-century Chinese jardiniere. The ceramist adopted this form while making it his own, adding cabochons of green and blue glazed ceramic that define the character of the piece. The work is signed, dated, and located under the base. A porcelain vase with very similar decoration, which was part of the collection of the gallerist Oscar Graf, a specialist in the artist, also demonstrates Doat's fascination with traditional Chinese porcelain, whose forms he repeatedly reinterpreted.

Ref.13929
Auguste LEDRU (sculptor) and Émile COLIN (editor), Large Stoneware Vase with Masks and Gilt Bronze Female Figures, circa 1902

This beautiful stoneware vase with gilt bronze ornaments was designed by the sculptor and ornamental designer Auguste Ledru and edited by the bronze manufacturer Émile Colin in 1902, the year the plaster model was presented at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français under number 4065. Auguste Ledru (1860-1902) was a student of Dumont, Bonnassieu, Thomas, and Boisseaux. He also worked with his father, also named Auguste Ledru, who was a sculptor and ornamental designer like him. He regularly participated in the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français between 1883 and 1902, the year of his death. In 1892, he won an Honorable Mention, in 1894, a third-class medal, and in 1896, a second-class medal with his brother-in-law René Lalique (1860-1945). Auguste Ledru also collaborated with publishing houses such as Maison Susse, Thiébaut Frères, and Émile Colin, as was the case for our vase. The Colin house, which initially practiced plaster molding, became known as a bronze manufacturer from 1855 onwards. It published works by the greatest masters of French sculpture, such as Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (Le Zouave), Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (L’Enfant au Cor), and the Parisian goldsmith Christofle. It is also known for lighting fixtures adorned with bronzes. The house participated in the 1891 Chicago World’s Fair and won a Grand Prix at the 1900 Paris Exposition thanks to style lighting fixtures modeled by Léon Méssagé. From that date, its production seemed to focus on contemporary art bronze, abandoning classical editions. This very original vase with a wide body features a stoneware decoration developing around two masks, whose hair and beard transform into foliage on either side. These vegetal and abstract lines characteristic of Art Nouveau create a play of light relief across the entire vase. At the top, two gilt bronze female figures, with their feet on the body and their hands on the neck, form handles. The vase is signed “Ledru” on the body. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris possesses a large jug with an ornamentation similar to our vase. Indeed, the spout is adorned with a mask and a nude female figure reminiscent of the handles on our vase.