Ref.11313
Gabriel VIARDOT (1830-1906) - Japanese style shelf cabinet with mother of pearl decoration

Stamped "G. VIARDOT". This cabinet with shelves is signed by the Parisian cabinetmaker Gabriel Viardot and has a rich japanese style decor: dragon, heron and turtle in bronze, inlaid ivory, bone and mother of pearl decorated with flowering branches. It opens with three doors and a drawer. It is surmounted by an important Foo dog in polished varnished bronze, which is one of Gabriel Viardot's trademarks. Its asymmetrical construction is characteristic of the creations of the Parisian cabinetmaker. The composition thus alternates solid elements and empty spaces. The central leaf is adorned with a carved and inlaid mother-of-pearl panel from Tonkin. The most outstanding decorative element of this cabinet is a Foo dog crowning the piece of furniture. To the right of the cabinet, supporting a tablet, a crane resting on the back of a turtle is also made out of polished varnished bronze as the sinuous dragon located in the lower part of the furniture. These are, just like the winding base, often present on the furnitures by Gabriel Viardot.

Ref.6000
"Flora and Zephyr", an exceptional fireplace based on the model of the Dauphin's Room at the Palace of Versailles and that of the Golden Salon at the Élysée Palace, sculpted in Statuary marble at the end of the 19th century.

This statuary marble fireplace is a replica of the fireplace created in 1747 by Jacques Verberckt, sculptor, and Jacques Caffiéri, “sculptor, founder and chaser to the King”, for the Dauphin’s Bedchamber at the Château de Versailles. This example, however, is entirely carved in marble, whereas the original model was made in red marble and enriched with gilt bronze decoration. Made at the end of the 19th century, it displays a decoration of remarkable refinement, revealing finely carved and meticulously worked details. The two jambs are adorned with herm figures representing Flora on the left and Zephyrus on the right. Zephyrus, depicted as a winged young man with wind swept hair, supports an important garland of flowers which he appears to offer to Flora. She, with delicate features and hair encircled by a crown of flowers, is also winged, an iconography that is relatively unusual for the goddess of flowers and spring. The center of the frieze is adorned with a large shell from which emerge fleshy acanthus leaves. The Dauphin’s Bedchamber at the Château de Versailles was entirely redecorated in 1747 under the direction of the King’s First Architect, Ange Jacques Gabriel, and fitted with a red Campan marble fireplace whose design was conceived by Jacques Verberckt, who was also responsible for the sculpted decoration of the apartments. The sculpture and the bronzes of the fireplace were executed by Jacques Caffiéri, the most important bronzier of the reign of Louis XV. “The fireplace derives a rare value from its gilt bronzes: attached to the jambs are two terms whose flowered shafts embrace at mid body a youthful figure holding flowers; on the right is Zephyrus, his cheek slightly swollen by his breath; on the left, Flora, who with her raised arm seems to shelter herself while smiling. Their author is Jacques Caffiéri. The Fireplace of Flora and Zephyrus is one of his important works, which it is a pleasure to rediscover in its former place.” In History of the Château de Versailles, Versailles in the 18th century, by Pierre de Nolhac, p. 107. A version of this fireplace can also be found at the Élysée Palace, in the Salon Doré, which serves as the official office of the Presidents of the Fifth Republic. This fireplace, adorned with the “N” of Napoleon III, was commissioned by the Emperor in 1861 to decorate the room intended to serve as the bedroom of Empress Eugénie.