Description/    

This stool is completely original in its sculpted décor, especially the three feet in the shape of elephant heads. The stool is therefore resting on their trunks, which roll upon themselves at the bottom. The trunks are grooved along the length and a small middle shelf is attached to them. This shelf is completely latticed: three cusped patterns, decorated with scrolls, are arranged around a central point. These latticed grids are found along the middle of the stool, between the heads of the elephants. These heads are impressive for the strength they exude, especially in the representation of muscles. The Far Eastern influenced latticed grid work and animals rendered in all their vitality are some characteristic elements of work by Gabriel Viardot, one of the most important Japanese and Chinese style cabinetmakers of the last third of the nineteenth century. The stool here is enriched by the presence of ivory tusks. The elephants’ skulls are lined with a material, of which the design is made in wood by etched patterns. The circular shelf is also engraved with concentric elements. 

The production of this stool is attributed to the Bamboo House of Perret and Vibret, a Japanese-style furniture company situated at 33 rue du Quatre Septembre in Paris.