Late 19th Century Japonisme Bamboo and Lacquer Salon Suite - Nine Pieces

This rare and visually arresting late 19th-century French bamboo and lacquer salon suite unfolds as a richly decorative ensemble, instantly transforming its surroundings with texture, pattern, and exotic elegance. Comprising nine pieces, it exemplifies the period’s fascination with the Far East and the artistry of bamboo furniture elevated to the level of high design. The honey-toned bamboo is ingeniously treated to imitate tortoiseshell, creating a lively, mottled surface that catches the light with warmth and movement. Panels of Japanese lacquer, painted with delicate gilt birds and flowering branches, animate the chair backs and seats, the tabletop, and shelving surfaces, lending a poetic touch to the bamboo structure. The suite includes four side chairs, two armchairs, a settee, a square side table, and a tall shelving stand fitted with a beveled mirror. Lithe joinery, asymmetrical rails, and light proportions echo the Aesthetic Movement’s embrace of Japanese art and craftsmanship. 

French bamboo furniture of this refinement is closely associated with Perret et Vibert, the celebrated Parisian firm known as the Maison des Bambous, founded in 1879. Perret et Vibert played a pivotal role in popularizing bamboo furnishings among an elite European clientele, blending Asian inspiration with French decorative sophistication. Their work appealed to collectors seeking novelty, lightness, and an air of travel, qualities that remain central to the enduring appeal of such ensembles today. There is wear and some loss to the lacquer, along with small breaks and restorations to the bamboo, consistent with age and use. Overall, the ensemble remains visually striking, with a delicate structure best suited to decorative display.

Evocative and versatile, the suite brings with it a quiet sense of elsewhere, recalling distant places and a refined moment in decorative history. Its warm tortoiseshell tones and Japanese motifs lend poetry and lightness to interiors, whether grouped together in a lush garden room, or dispersed throughout the home. Place the shelving stand in an entry to receive keys and correspondence, flank a console with a pair of chairs, position the settee beneath a window, and use the table for tea, cards, or display. Equally at home in a seaside villa or an eclectic urban interior, the ensemble offers a graceful balance of fantasy and refinement.