Ref.12896
Japanese style bevelled mirror attributed to Gabriel Viardot

Japanese mirror with dragon attributed to Gabriel Viardot, dating from the end of the 19th century. A small dragon frames a corner of the mirror with its slender body. The details of its face : its eyes, its nose, its open mouth showing its teeth and its outstretched tongue, are carved in fruitwood, as well as its scales and clawed paws that completely enclose the mirror. The two corners on the opposite side of the dragon are adorned with a stylised cloud motif as found in Asian art codes.

Ref.5857
Very beautiful antique Louis XVI style fireplace in Statuary Carrara marble with quiver-shaped columns, after the model from the Chateau of Fontainebleau

This magnificent Louis XVI style fireplace, of impressive dimensions, was made in the 19th century from Statuary Carrara marble. It is a faithful replica of the model installed in the 18th century at the Château de Fontainebleau, in Queen Marie-Antoinette’s Silver Boudoir, designed in 1786 by the architect Pierre-Marie Rousseau. The boudoir was entirely decorated to reflect Marie-Antoinette’s admiration for antiquity. Ivy branches—symbols of vitality in classical tradition—run across the frieze, bordered by an ovolo moulding that emphasizes the linear clarity characteristic of the Louis XVI style, in contrast with the exuberance of the Rococo. Amid the ivy, a bow is finely chiseled in bronze. This motif is echoed in the jambs, shaped as delicately fluted quivers. The feathers of the arrows, the base ornaments, and the lion heads that adorn them are all crafted in bronze. Art historian Yves Carlier, in Le Boudoir de Marie-Antoinette à Fontainebleau, suggests that sculptor Philippe-Laurent Roland, responsible for several elements of the boudoir, may have also designed the bronze models for this fireplace, which were then executed by the bronzesmith Claude-Jean Pitoin. The bow and quiver motifs are hallmarks of the Louis XVI style and appear throughout the Silver Boudoir—on the legs of armchairs and the writing desk, for example. This fireplace fits seamlessly into the cohesive decorative scheme of the room, both in its themes and composition. While true to the original, this 19th-century version features some period-specific elements, such as an inner cast-iron panel adorned with leaf branches and ribbons.