Known for his elaborately carved chinoiserie and Japonisme furniture inspired by East Asian motifs, Gabriel Viardot was one of France’s most famous cabinetmakers during the late 19th century.
Viardot’s career began in 1849 as a woodcarver for Maison Jeanselme, cabinetmakers to the court of Napoleon III. Shortly after, at age 19, Viardot opened his own business, designing and creating small furniture and decorative objects.
In 1853, Viardot’s enterprise grew into a factory and store, Viardot Frères et Cie, which he operated with his brother Alexandre Laurent. The brothers enjoyed moderate success with their finely sculpted pieces and objects, winning a bronze medal at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. However, the two parted ways the following year. Alexandre Laurent kept the company, while Viardot began his own firm, called G. Viardot.
Throughout the late 1860s and ’70s, Viardot dedicated himself to designing and producing chinoiserie and Japonisme furniture. Many of his pieces, such as side tables, consoles, pedestal tables and chairs, feature exquisite embellishments in mother-of-pearl, ivory and gilt-bronze and are made with lacquered and embossed panels imported directly from China and Japan. (The art of Japanese lacquer goes back some 9,000 years.) Some of Viardot’s most sculptural creations are his full-length floor mirrors and wall mirrors framed with carved mahogany dragons and cherubs.
Viardot participated in numerous major European exhibitions and fairs, scooping up medals and accolades for his pieces. In 1867, he won four medals at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, followed by a silver medal and gold medal at Antwerp’s Universal Exposition in 1878 and 1884, respectively. He also won gold medals at Paris’s Exposition Universelle in 1889 and 1900. In 1885, Viardot was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
By 1880, Viardot’s company had become one of the largest furniture manufacturers in Paris, with up to 100 sculptors and cabinetmakers employed. Following his death in 1906, Viardot’s son Gabriel Léon Jules Viardot and son-in-law Georges Isidore Jean Dupont took over operations. However, competition from other furniture makers and the rise of Art Nouveau led to the company’s eventual closure.
Viardot’s pieces continue to be highly sought by interior designers and collectors of late 19th-century furniture.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of antique Gabriel Viardot mirrors, tables and decorative objects.
IMPORTANT ANTiQUE GABRIELD VIARDOT 1830-1906 SIGNED JAPONISME DISPLAY CUPBOARD
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Very rare and important, Museum quality Gabriel Viardot 1830-1906 display cabinet signed to the side G Viardot Paris 1887, finished with Mother of Pearl inlay and Gold Gilt oriental ...
Hardwood, Mother-of-Pearl
$3,322Sale Price|20% Off
Swivel Bookcase Table with Marble Top by Gabriel Viardot, Japonism, circa 1880
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in VÉZELAY, FR
Rare pedestal table / bookcase in Japanese / Chinese / Asian style, richly carved. With red marble top, swivel shelves and tripod base carved with dragon / demon heads and clawed le...
Marble
$2,848Sale Price|20% Off
Swivel Bookcase Table with Carved Top by Gabriel Viardot, Japonism, circa 1880
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in VÉZELAY, FR
Rare pedestal table / bookcase in Japanese / Chinese / Asian style. Richly carved : top decorated with a dragon, openwork swivel shelves and tripod base carved with clawed legs. Ar...
Wood
$2,583Sale Price|20% Off
H 40.16 in W 30.71 in D 11.62 in
Antique Pier Cabinet, English Walnut, Glazed Bookcase, Display Cupboard, Regency
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique pier cabinet. An English, walnut and boxwood glazed bookcase or display cupboard, dating to the Regency period, circa 1820. ...
Boxwood, Walnut
$2,059
H 31.7 in W 19.49 in D 19.49 in
Antique Sheraton Revival Hardwood & Satinwood Revolving Bookcase Side End Table
By Sheraton Revival
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this very fine antique Sheraton Revival Mahogany & Satinwood revolving bookcase table A very good looking well made and decorative piece. Made i...
Hardwood, Satinwood
Antique Scandinavian Pine Cupboard
Located in Sheffield, MA
Wonderfully rustic pine cupboard. Can be used for linen, kitchen or where ever extra storage is needed. Three compartments at the top. Center door opens down. Lower part with 2 large...
Pine
Bamboo Occasional Table with Lacquered Top, English, ca. 1880
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Bamboo Occasional Table with Lacquered Top, English, ca. 1880. The art of using bamboo in furniture making originated in China, dating as far back as the early 1600's and would later...
Bamboo, Rattan
$10,697
H 76.38 in W 23.63 in D 12.6 in
Japonisme Mother of Pearl Inlaid Hardwood Display Cabinet after Viardot
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in London, GB
This wonderful display cabinet is designed in a ‘Japonisme’ (Japanese) style, which was popular in Europe in the mid-late 19th century. This craze was kick-started by Japan reopening to trade with the West, and exporting Japanese goods—including furniture and decorative art—to Europe. One craftsmen by the name of Gabriel Viardot (1830-1906) established a name for himself in France producing Chinese and Japanese style furniture...
Metal
Antique Chinese Hardwood Display Cabinet
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique Chinese hardwood display cabinet having a pierced gallery top above stepped shelves and supported by turned columns, four inlaid cupboards doors a...
Hardwood
$7,713
H 59.06 in W 23.63 in D 15.75 in
Gabriel Viardot (attributed To) - Orientalist Showcase / cabinet
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in BARSAC, FR
Magnificent carved wood display case with rich Asian-inspired with different levels of shelves and niches, as well as a door decorated and a door with plant decoration in mother-of-p...
Wood
$1,050Sale Price|30% Off
H 50.5 in W 19.25 in D 47 in
Vintage Jasper Blue Jelly Cabinet Cupboard Curio Display Buffet Console Table
By Jasper Furniture Company
Located in Dayton, OH
A beautiful blue cupboard by Jasper Cabinet Company. Made from hardwood with two dovetailed drawers over lower cabinet with adjustable shelves. The low...
Hardwood, Paint
$945Sale Price|55% Off
H 32 in W 16 in D 10 in
Victorian 1880 Walnut Carved Side Table with White Marble Top
Located in Lomita, CA
A rectangular white marble top rests on a walnut base with this occasional table. It is from the Victorian period. The carved walnut marble-topped table is American or English, and...
Marble
$4,153 / item
H 18.9 in W 29.53 in D 20.08 in
21st Century Ebonized Oak and Patinated Bronze Modernist Lamp Table / Bookcase
By B.B. for Reschio, Benedikt Bolza Design
Located in Lisciano Niccone, Perugia
The modernist lamp table, an ebonized oak and patinated bronze mounted lamp table / bookcase B.B. - lamp tables are always a bit of a nightmare. I find combining it with a bookcase ...
Bronze
$1,853
H 33.47 in W 18.51 in D 18.51 in
Lovley Sheraton Revival Hardwood & Satinwood Revolving Bookcase Side End Table
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning vintage Sheraton Revival mahogany & Satinwood revolving bookcase table A very good looking well made and decorative piece. Made in...
Hardwood, Satinwood
Antique Victorian Satinwood Display Cabinet
Located in London, GB
A magnificent and very rare antique Victorian satinwood display cabinet, beautifully made from inlaid satinwood. This was made in England, it dates from around the 1880-1890 period. ...
Satinwood, Glass, Fabric
Sold
H 73.23 in W 27.17 in D 13.78 in
Gorgeous French Art Nouveau Cabinet / Display Cabinet with Marquetry, 1890
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Gorgeous and most rare French Art Nouveau cabinet by Gabriel Viardot, 1890. Breathtaking floral Art Nouveau shapes with marquetry inlaid doo...
Glass, Wood