A Pair of Napoleon III Gien Transfer-Printed Faience and Gilt, Patinated and Enameled Bronze Chinoiserie Wall-Appliques Attributed to Escalier de Cristal, Paris, Circa 1870

Christie's, London, 14 November 2019, lot 537.

The Escalier de Cristal was an influential producer of luxury furniture throughout the nineteenth century, catering particularly to that century’s fascination with the Japanese style. The firm was first founded in 1808 by Madame Marie Désarnaud, about whom little is documented, and specialised in “small gilt-bronze mounted table objects in mother-of-pearl”.¹ The firm very quickly gained a reputation for excellent quality, and was given the title fournisseur breveté du Roi in 1819. By this point, the firm had broadened its range to include furniture, and they won the gold medal at the fifth Exposition des Produits de l'Industrie Française in 1819 for an elaborate dressing table and chair in cut crystal for the Duchess of Berry, now at the Louvre (OA 11229 and OA 11230). The Escalier de Cristal would sometimes commission parts from external craftsmen that they would assemble to their own design in their workshops, but also took in stamped pieces from named makers like Edouard Lièvre, to which they added their own stamp before retailing. The gilt and patinated-bronze applique on the present lot is a good example of their ‘Japonisme’ work, combining Japanese-inspired scrollwork and natural motifs with a wall light structure that fits a European interior.

¹ Christopher Payne, Paris Furniture: The Luxury Market of the 19^th Century, Saint-Rémy-en-l’Eau, 2018, p.344.