Ref.11417
Maison Soubrier, Pair of chairs with fan-shaped backs

This pair of chairs inspired by Japanese art was made by the Maison Soubrier in the late 19th century. The Maison Soubrier was founded in 1848. It specialised in creating furniture in the ancient styles, then followed the trend for Far Eastern art with Japanese-style furniture. In the 1970s, furniture, paintings and decorations rental took over from cabinetmaking, and it is still in this field that the company continues today. This richly decorated pair of chairs is inspired by Far Eastern art. The legs and struts feature curves and floral and geometric ornamentation reminiscent of Japanese art. Each backrest is decorated with a fan, the ends of which are held in place by two crane heads. A dragon emerges from the fan and blends harmoniously with the vegetation occupying the lower part of the back. The chairs work in pairs: their backs are symmetrical. The Soubrier archives contain a photograph of a chair whose ornamentation is identical, apart from a few details, to that of our two chairs. These chairs are typical of the fashion for Japonism in France at the end of the 19th century.

Ref.10909
Gabriel VIARDOT (1830-1906)- Small Japanese square harness

Stamp "G. Viardot" on the back of a jamb. Japanese pedestal in moldered, carved and stained wood. The square-section top rests on four moving legs joined by a tablet with openwork Chinese motifs. The apron takes up the Far Eastern decorative repertoire.

Ref.4358
Louis XV period Rouge du Nord marble mantel

This belgian rouge marble mantel was made in the 18th century, its sculpted decor is typical of the Louis XV style. the fluted jambs are slightly curved on their upper parts. They support the curved entablature, adorned on its center with a beautiful stylized shell flanked by an oblong moulding. The sides were made later.

Ref.14966
Albert-Ernest CARRIER-BELLEUSE, CHOISY-LE-ROI Manufacture, Bust of an Oriental Woman in glazed earthenware

This bust was created by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse for the Choisy-le-Roi faience factory in the second half of the 19th century. Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse, known as Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887), was the most prolific sculptor of the Second Empire. He was quickly influenced by the importance of decorative arts and worked with Ferdinand Barbedienne on the creation of decorative objects. He achieved great success at exhibitions and received numerous official commissions. He produced many busts of beautiful and elegant young women, including a Bust of a Woman Wearing a Diadem held at the Orsay Museum. He also provided bust models for the Choisy-le-Roi Faience Factory, where his son later became the artistic director. This bust of an oriental woman, created from an original sculpture signed by Carrier-Belleuse, was made for this manufactory. Titled The Bust of an Algerian Woman, it was auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2017. It is one of his rare orientalist works. The desire to depict a woman in oriental costume aligns with the idealization evident throughout the sculptor's work. The smiling woman shows her teeth. Her long, loose hair, adorned with multiple sequins along the edges, rests on her shoulder and is topped with a hat featuring orientalist motifs. Her bare chest, partially covered by a crumpled fabric and accentuated by the two rows of her necklace, exudes great sensuality. The colorful costume draping her shoulders is highlighted by the vivid colors and brilliance of the faience. At the base of the bust, a gilded belt emphasizes the richness of the costume. The bust is signed on the back and bears the mark of the Choisy-le-Roi manufactory.

Ref.15445
Gabriel VIARDOT, Japonist bed with a canopy and accompanying nightstand, second half of the 19th century

Nightstand : H. 81 cm / 31’’ 7/8 ; L. 59 cm / 23” 1/4 ; P. 38 cm / 14” 15/16 This set of a Japonist bed and nightstand was crafted by Gabriel Viardot in the second half of the 19th century. A talented wood sculptor, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture workshop and store in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to dedicate himself to “Chinese-Japanese style furniture”. He received prestigious awards at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1878, 1889, and 1900, and won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Antwerp in 1884. The foot of the bed features carved ornamentation in low and very low relief, inspired by Far Eastern art: on the left, a dragon moves across a geometric structure that extends beyond the frame in which it is inscribed, while on the right, a second frame houses a delicate mother-of-pearl marquetry depicting a sakura (cherry blossom) branch, accompanied by a bas-relief sculpture of a flowering branch mirroring the dragon. The contours display ornamentation characteristic of the artist: the feet are adorned with geometric scrolls, while the top mimics the shape of a cloud. The headboard is topped with two birds fluttering near a sakura branch, surmounted by cloud or smoke scrolls. On either side, there are panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl from the Far East. Four columns rise from the headboard, connected in pairs by an openwork design typical of Viardot’s style. On the left, a sakura branch seems to sprout from one of the two columns, first spreading between them, then into the central space, giving the piece a beautiful asymmetry. The canopy is also adorned with openwork motifs. The two top beams curve upwards at each end to evoke the roof of pagodas. At the front, another blossoming cherry branch harmoniously integrates into the central openwork design. The nightstand rests on four lion paws. It features asymmetrical open shelves reminiscent of Japanese “cha’dansu” (tea cabinets). One of these, covered with white marble on the inside, is closed by a lacquer panel, imported during that period to Europe. At the top, the small drawer, equipped with a decorative handle, displays an engraved bamboo leaf motif, while the sculpted tabletop is raised on one side and lowered on the other, a layout characteristic of the artist’s creations. The nightstand is also signed, a rare occurrence in Viardot’s work, indicating the exceptional care he took in crafting this piece. With this set, Gabriel Viardot follows one of the conventions of Japonism that developed in Europe from the 1870s: he adapts ornamentation inspired by Far Eastern art to an eminently European structure, as both the bed (especially when equipped with a canopy) and the nightstand are furniture pieces that do not exist in Far Eastern culture. One of the drawings found in Viardot’s archives depicts a canopy bed very similar to this one; the posts of the canopy and their ornamentation are quite similar, as is the overall shape of the bed, and much of the ornamentation shows numerous similarities.