THE TOP EARLY 19TH CENTURY, THE BASE LATE 19TH CENTURY

This 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.