Sloping desk with Japanese flap is signed by Gabriel Viardot and dated 1886 скачать в хорошем качестве

Sloping desk with Japanese flap is signed by Gabriel Viardot and dated 1886

This Japanese-style sloping desk is signed by Gabriel Viardot and dated 1886. A talented wood sculptor, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and store in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese furniture”. He won a silver medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878, then the gold medal at the International Exhibition in Antwerp in 1884, and at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1889 and 1900. This stained sycamore desk, although adapted for European use, is part of Viardot's Sino-Japanese production. In its lower part, the high legs of the furniture in the shape of stylized lion paws are topped with oriental geometric patterns. The asymmetry of the distribution of the shelves in the upper part of the desk is inspired by Japanese “cha’dansu” (or tea cabinets). Its crowning glory is inspired by the architecture of Japanese temples. The Tonkin mother-of-pearl inlays forming Far Eastern motifs and delicate flowers or butterflies with iridescent reflections are probably a re-use of Indochinese furniture. It is also decorated with a reused lacquer panel on which is represented a Buddhist monk seated in a meditative posture and accompanied by a butterfly, an oriental motif symbolizing eternity, perhaps the object of his meditation. The decor is enhanced with gilded bronze elements. The Musée d'Orsay has a tea table by Gabriel Viardot also displaying mother-of-pearl inlays, the lower part of which is very similar to that of this desk.