L'ESCALIER DE CRISTAL 1809–1923 - Lot 217

L'ESCALIER DE CRISTAL 1809–1923 An elegant jewelry box featuring a "chien de Fo" and an inkwell, crafted from chiseled, patinated, and gilded bronze, with a poly-lobed shape resting on leafy branches. The interior of the jewelry box is lined with red velvet. Signed: ESCALIER DE CRISTAL PARIS. (On the inkwell). Paris. Second half of the 19th century H_18 cm The glass inkwell is missing Comparable work *TAJAN Auction, Paris. April 26, 2017. Lot 131 L’Escalier de Cristal 1808–1923 *1808–1829 The Early Years: Crystal and Gilded Bronze Marie Jeanne Rosalie Désarnaud (1775–1842) opened her shop around 1808 in the galleries of the Palais-Royal gardens with her brother Philippe Auguste Charpentier (1781–1815), a renowned engraver of semiprecious stones and crystal. In 1812, they specialized their production by combining cut crystal and gilded bronze in the creation of objets d’art and furniture, such as the famous dressing table of the Duchess of Berry (Musée d’Orsay). As the sole owner of the shop upon her brother’s death in 1815, the widow Désarnaud targeted a royal clientele, thereby obtaining the title of “supplier of crystals to the king.” In 1829, she sold her business to Jacques Boin, a crystal cutter and engraver who also worked at the Palais-Royal *1829–1840 The Boin-Lahoche partnership and the development of tableware. In the early 1830s, Boin maintained the prestige associated with the widow Désarnaud’s store, as evidenced by its royal and princely clientele. In 1840, he went into partnership with Pierre-Isidore Lahoche, and in 1844 they participated in the Industrial Products Exhibition. At the forefront of fashion, he embodied what might be called “good taste” in the late 1840s and early *1852: The Pannier Family Enters the Business Pierre Isidore Lahoche went into business with Émile Pannier, the son of a pottery maker, who was married to his daughter Célina Lahoche. The 1850s also marked the beginning of the first World’s Fairs, in which the store participated regularly. Eager to win over an increasingly broad international clientele, Lahoche and Pannier crossed the Atlantic to showcase their wares in New York, where they were awarded a silver medal in 1853. They were also awarded another silver medal at the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris and received a commission from Napoleon III. The latter purchased from them a cut ruby crystal goblet featuring a gilded bronze spout. Their success stemmed from their ability to keep pace with the fashions and tastes of their time. Furthermore, eager to reach an ever-wider clientele, Lahoche and Pannier also produced more affordable works of art, thanks in part to new techniques such as electroplating. The store thus allowed this more modest clientele to acquire objects of “good taste” while imagining themselves as belonging to a higher social class. *Japonism Following Japan’s participation in the 1867 World’s Fair and the discovery of its art—so different from traditional European standards—a veritable craze took hold. European artistic production then followed this trend, and many artists and cabinetmakers specialized in Japanese-inspired creations, including Lièvre, Viardot, and Rousseau in the field of glassware. The Pannier brothers saw this new trend as an opportunity to diversify their production. Bibliography: THE CRYSTAL STAIRCASE. Luxury in Paris, 1809–1923. Annick and Didier Masseau. Monelle Hayot Publishing. 2021 Expert: Stéphane Pépé