A FRENCH 'JAPONISME' GILT, SILVERED, AND PATINATED-BRONZE AND ONYX GUERIDON

The present gueridon epitomises the French 'Japonisme' style fashionable during the second half of the 19th century. The style was popularised by the colonisation of East Asia, the export of Japanese works of art to the West during the Meiji period and Japanese displays at the Great Exhibitions. The stylistic vocabulary interprets Japanese motifs such as the geometric fretwork, exotic peacock, bamboo framework and flowered-liana. The combination of gilt and silvered bronze gives an iridescent finish in imitation of Japanese mixed-metal objects known as mokume.
Similar designs incorporating this central peacock mount are repeated throughout the sculptor Eugène Cornu's oeuvre. Cornu, who owned marble quarries in Algeria, partnered with the bronzier G. Viot & Cie, and together the firm created luxurious objects and furniture made from marble mounted in enamel and bronze, as well as vases and fountains in marble. They found great success at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, winning the médaille d'or.
Two variations of this whimsical gueridon similarly attributed to Cornu and Viot are presently known; one supported by a peacock, as in the present lot, and the other by a crane. Several peacock-form tables have sold including two at Christie's; 23 September 2010, lots 75 (£34,850) and 76 (£32,450).