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.
$3,271Sale 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
$2,804Sale 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
$2,021
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
Louis XVI Side Table with Marble Top, France, Circa 1900
Located in High Point, NC
A refined expression of French neoclassical design, this Louis XVI side table dates to circa 1900 and showcases the timeless elegance of the period. Crafted in solid wood and topped ...
Marble
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
Small French brass table with marble top, circa 1910
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Elegant small brass table with a marble top, dating from circa 1910. This piece of furniture is characterized by a sleek, geometric design and carefully finished details. The warm pa...
Marble, Brass
$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
$4,080 / 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 Benedikt Bolza Design, B.B. for Reschio
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
$1,819
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 Burnt Bamboo Side Table with Grass Cloth Top, Circa 1880
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Antique burnt bamboo small side table / stand with grass cloth top.
Bamboo
$14,800
H 31 in W 28 in D 18 in
19th Century French Chinoiserie Style Mahogany Table Attributed Gabriel Viardot
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in New York, NY
A magnificent 19th century French hand-carved chinoiserie style mahogany center-table with mother-of-pearl inlaid marquetry top attributed to Gabriel Viardot. This magnificent mahogany table has been hand-carved with Chinese chinoiserie decor depicting chinoiserie figures holding umbrellas and other Chinese motif inlaid. Around the edges of the rectangular table is magnificently detailed and adorned open wood work, which gives the piece a different dimension of class and elegance. The top of the table is beautifully designed with a mother-of-pearl inlaid marquetry. Tinted wood table with rectangular tray with Asian decor inlaid with mother-of-pearl depicting peaches and beauties holding umbrellas. The carved openwork crosses of Chinese motifs rests on four magnificently carved curved legs with lions feet holding up the table. Found at the top of each leg are beautifully chased doré bronze mounts depicting foo dog masks. France, circa 1890. Gabriel Viardot is a famous Parisian cabinetmaker who inherited the family factory in around 1860. He manufactured carved wood furniture...
Bronze
$3,175
H 44.49 in W 26.38 in D 26.38 in
Very Large circa 1880 Antique Victorian English Oak Revolving Bookcase Table
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer this very well made English oak circa 1880-1900 revolving bookcase table with printed numbers on the shelves Pl...
Oak
$14,189
H 29 in W 26 in D 19.5 in
19th Century French Ebonised Table in the Japonisme Style attributed to Viardot
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in London, GB
An Exquisite Ebonised Table In the Japonisme Manner Attributed to G. Viardot Designed in the exotic style associated with the French 'japonisme' movement and the English Aesthetic m...
Wood, Boxwood
Unavailable|$9,093
H 30.71 in W 50.01 in D 20.48 in
Japonism Console Table, School of Gabriel Viardot (1803-1904), Paris, c.1885
By Gabriel Viardot, Perret et Vibert
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Rare Japonism Faux Bamboo Napoléon III Console Table, circa 1885 An important carved, black lacquered and giltwood console table raised on four finely tur-ned faux bamboo columns jo...
Wood
Sold
H 29.53 in W 19.69 in D 19.69 in
19th Century French Japanese Style Occasional Table by Gabriel Viardot
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A good example of a 19th Century Japanese style occasional table by French cabinet maker Gabriel Viardot. With carved cherry blossom and finely inlaid panels showing warriors on hors...
Bronze
Gabriel Viardot Chinoiserie Two-Tier Table with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in New York, NY
A finely crafted giltwood two-tier side table attributed to Gabriel Viardot (1830–1906), showcasing rich chinoiserie influence. The table features elaborately carved and pierced wood...
Wood
Gabriel Viardot, Chinoiserie Side Table, France, 1880-1890
By Gabriel Viardot
Located in New York, NY
Signed. A two-tiered, tall side table by Gabriel Viardot, a French cabinetmaker whose elaborate carvings and use of eastern motifs propelled him to fame in the late 19th century.
Beech