Gabriel Viardot - Japanese-style Sofa

Sofa with an openwork backrest, crafted from carved, stained alder and accented withgilding, with green velvet upholstery. It features an ornamental style inspired by Japanese design. Asian dragons set against a background of geometric motifs reminiscent of traditional Japanese temples adorn the backrest, whilethe coiled armrests rest on chimera heads. The open workband also features a dragon mask and rests on four legsterminating in lion’s claws.
Biography
Gabriel Viardot, a woodcarver by trade, crafted small pieces of furniture, decorative items, and carved wooden objects featuringnaturalistic and animal subjects, some of which were well-received atthe 1855 Paris World’s Fair. However, the importation of similar worksfrom Switzerland and Germany prompted Viardot to innovate. In1861, Viardot succeeded his father as head of the Parisian workshops onRue Rambuteau and took an interest in the new artistic movement of the time:Japonism. The Viardot firm would then become one of the first to specializein the production of furniture “in the Chinese and Japanese style,” adapting the furniture and objects exported by China and Japan to European tastes and customs. Viardot adorned his furniture with authentic Japanese lacquered panels,Tonkin mother-of-pearl inlays, and superb bronzes, the designs for which hecreated himself, thereby giving the pieces a luxurious andexotic appearance. Acclaimed at trade shows, Viardot won four medals at the1867 Paris World’s Fair and a silver medal at thein 1878. He was awarded gold medals on several occasions: at the World’s Fairs in Antwerp in 1884, and in Paris in 1889and 1900. His workshops on Rue des Archives, where Viardot set up shop in 1878, employed about a hundred cabinetmakers and sculptors by 1885, the year in whichhe was promoted to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor.