Japanese-style Cloisonné Enamel Vase/incense Burner By Maison Alphonse Giroux & Cie, Paris, Circa 1875

Japanese style cloisonné enamel vase/incense burner. Maison Alphonse Giroux & Cie, Paris, circa 1875–1890. In the repertoire and under the influence of Édouard Lièvre. Polychrome cloisonné enamel (Meiji body), gilt and patinated bronze (mounts). Marked: ALPH. GIROUX. Ovoid vase in Japanese Meiji cloisonné enamel with a sky blue background, decorated with birds in flight among peonies, chrysanthemums and branches. The Parisian mount is distinguished by a tripod base of patinated bronze tortoises, remarkable for the vigor of its chasing, surmounted by an openwork gilt bronze crown with finely cut scrolls and lambrequins. The ensemble fully embodies Parisian Japonism of the years 1875–1890, as orchestrated by the House of Giroux, while deploying a formal and symbolic vocabulary directly related to that of Édouard Lièvre: use of totemic animals, tripod base, complex openwork, and dramatic forms. Mark: ALPH. GIROUX PARIS. Condition: very good condition, minimal wear to the gilding. THE CONNECTION WITH ÉDOUARD LIÈVRE Formal stylistic influence The piece presents several characteristics typical of Édouard Lièvre's vocabulary: Animal tripods (here tortoises) — Lièvre frequently uses real or fantastic animals as bases for vases, incense burners, and pedestal tables. Highly sculptural, theatrical mounts with a strong zoomorphic identity. Openwork crowns or open friezes, a specialty of Lièvre as a decorator. Hybridization between oriental elements (enamel, lacquer, cloisonné) and French bronzes. Lièvre & Giroux: Édouard Lièvre did not work exclusively for a single manufacturer; he collaborated with Barbedienne, L'Escalier de Cristal, and Christofle, and influenced Giroux through shared designers and bronze casters. The Giroux workshops regularly adopted motifs, silhouettes, and decorative principles from the Lièvre repertoire. According to a drawing attributed to Édouard Lièvre, Musée d'Orsay, Paris: Objects and furniture by Édouard Lièvre: animal tripods, chimeras, or tortoises; heavily sculpted bronzes; openwork similar to the crown motif. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (MAD): Giroux objects mounted with Japonisme bronzes, including: zoomorphic mounts, cloisonné vases on animal tripods, and very comparable systems of upper crowns. Victoria & Albert Museum, London (V&A): Meiji objects mounted in Paris, reminiscent of the hybrid Giroux–Lièvre model. Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York York Bronzes produced in the Lièvre style; analogous tripod bases. A piece signed Giroux, of remarkable quality, indicative of early Japonisme. The use of an animal tripod base and a sovereign openwork crown directly references the formal vocabulary developed by Édouard Lièvre, whose influence was decisive in the decorative arts of the 1870s–1880s. The combination of a Meiji body and a Parisian mount creates a work perfectly characteristic of the dialogue between the Far East and Parisian bronze artisans, at the heart of the Lièvre style. Maison Alphonse Giroux, Paris, circa 1875–1890. In the repertoire of Édouard Lièvre. A Japanese-style cloisonné enamel vase mounted on a tripod of tortoises, with an openwork crown in gilt bronze. Marked: ALPH. GIROUX PARIS.