A french gilt and silvered bronze mantel-clock, late 19th century, attributed to Edouard Lièvre for l'Escalier de Cristal

Bonhams London, 4 July 2013, lot 203

Émile-Alphonse Reiber (1826–1893)

Architect, decorator and ornamental designer, Émile-Alphonse Reiber was one of the leading figures in the revival of the decorative arts during the Second Empire and the Third Republic. Born in Strasbourg in 1826, he trained as an architect before turning to the applied arts, a field in which he excelled thanks to his inventiveness and curiosity about non-European cultures.

In 1863, he joined Christofle as artistic director, where he developed an innovative style inspired by Japanese, Islamic and Chinese influences. His designs for silver-plated tableware, vases and tableware were hugely successful at the Universal Exhibitions of the 1860s and 1870s and helped to establish Christofle's international reputation.

Reiber also distinguished himself as a theorist: in 1869 and 1873, he published several collections of designs and essays in which he defended the importance of ornamental design as a discipline in its own right, capable of drawing on traditions from around the world to renew modern art. With this approach, he stood at the crossroads of the Orientalist movement and Japonism, which profoundly influenced tastes in the second half of the 19th century.

Émile-Alphonse Reiber died in 1893, leaving behind a considerable body of graphic and decorative work that bears witness to the richness and eclecticism of his inspiration. His creations for Christofle are now featured in numerous public collections, notably at the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and various international museums dedicated to the decorative arts.