Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.17284

Chef d'oeuvre d'Édouard LIEVRE (1829 – 1886), the ceremonial table in the Japanese taste from the salon of Édouard Detaille

In 1877, Édouard Detaille commissioned several pieces of luxurious furniture from Édouard Lièvre in order to furnish his recently built townhouse, located at 129 Boulevard Malesherbes, thus becoming Lièvre’s greatest patron. Made at this time, this exceptional table is a jewel of Japanese-inspired furniture designed by this famous artist. Fashioned in solid rosewood and richly ornamented, this piece of furniture took its inspiration from Japanese ceremonial tables used for religious offerings. The table rests on six bronze legs in the form of elephants’ trunks that are finished in “antique gold”, the tone so favored by Édouard Lièvre. The table is decorated on all four sides and comprises a curved openwork bronze band made up of Édouard Detaille’s intertwining initials, “ED”, as represented in a “kamon”, or family emblem, used by the Japanese. Several bronzes on this table are signed with Édouard Lièvre’s initials, “EL”, and are numbered.


Born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, he first made a name for himself as a designer of models for a foundry in the Meuse Department and later set up in Paris as a lithographic designer. An astute connoisseur of the great public and private collections, he published numerous works, illustrated with engravings, in order to make the masterpieces conserved in museums better known, and also to promote a greater knowledge of period styles. This activity reinforced his acute sense of observation, stimulated his creative tastes and, from about 1870-1875, allowed him to successfully reinterpret the sources of inspiration that benefited him as a designer of furniture and art objects. Moreover, thanks to the international exhibitions and the discovery of Far Eastern countries, especially Japan, allowed Lièvre to conceive a new decorative repertory that was more pure and minimalist, of which this table is an extraordinary example. Lièvre’s new concept of form and decor, expressed in his work inspired by Japan, would make him a precursor of modernism. Lièvre thus became a famous designer, creating several exceptional pieces of furniture for the most celebrated personalities of his day, such as Sarah Bernhardt and Louise-Emilie Valtesse de la Bigne, the richest courtesan in Paris, well known by Édouard Detaille.

    This table is an exceptional and rare example of the furniture designed by Édouard Lièvre for Édouard Detaille. A history painter with a great predilection for military scenes, Detaille (1848-1912) quickly made his fortune and sought the most prestigious artisans to decorate his home. The large sums he paid Lièvre show how great a reputation he enjoyed:
    “Already wealthy at the age of twenty-six, Detaille had acquired a parcel of land at 129 Boulevard Malesherbes, in 1875, in order to construct a private house (…). Lièvre would become his principal supplier. An attentive study of the photographs by Paul Gers of the interior of Detaille’s townhouse show that he ordered sumptuous furniture from Lièvre in the most diverse styles (...) Detaille kept minute notes in his diary of the sums he spent with Lièvre; a first payment was made in September 1877, followed by others: 3,000 francs in November, 6,000 and 6,500 francs in December. These sums were far greater than the amounts he spent with Étienne Roudillon, Siegfried Bing, Auguste Godin and other prestigious suppliers and they underscore Lièvre’s exceptional reputation. The most innovative piece of furniture designed by Lièvre for Detaille is a large ceremonial console, inspired by a Japanese table used for religious offerings, with four faces and six elephant trunk legs.”
Roberto Polo, « Édouard Lièvre, créateur des arts décoratifs du XIXè siècle »,
L'objet d'art, n° 394, septembre 2004, p.105


This ceremonial table is one of the emblematic creations of the decorative arts: it is an exceptional example of a private commission executed by Édouard Lièvre, the greatest furniture designer of the 19th century, for the salon of his patron, Édouard Detaille.

Bibliography:
Succession Édouard Detaille. Première vente. Tableaux anciens et modernes. Objets d’Art et d’Ameublement. Vente après décès des 10 et 11 mars 1913, Hôtel Drouot, lot n° 204.
Édouard Lièvre, in Connaissance des Arts, Hors Série N° 228, illustrated p. 19.
« Édouard Lièvre, créateur des arts décoratifs du XIXè siècle », L'Objet d'Art, n° 394, September 2004, illustrated p. 104-105.
Roberto Polo: The Eye, by Werner Adriaenssens et al., illustrated p. 224-227.

This table was described by Roberto Polo in L'Objet d’Art, n° 394, September 2004