A LOUIS XVI STYLE GILT BRONZE MOUNTED NASHIJI LACQUER AND MAHOGANY CABINET SERRE-BIJOUX, BY ESCALIER DE CRISTAL, PARIS, CIRCA 1900

The present cabinet is an interesting addition to the oeuvre of the firm of L'Escalier de Cristal, active throughout the 19th century and in the early 20th century. The firm was synonymous with high quality merchandise and of a production that was at the height of the Parisian taste. When the brothers Georges and Henry Pannier owned the company from 1885 to 1923, the firm's production became very innovative in the realm of chinoiserie and japonisme as shown with the present example.

The Maison A l'Escalier de Cristal was first established in 1802 by Madame Barthélemy Désarnaud. She exhibited at the Exposition Nationale in the Louvre in 1819 with great acclaim. The business was based in the Palais Royal and it was the first manufacturer to mount crystal objects with gilt-bronze. L' Escalier supplied lamps, vases, clocks and other objets d'art to most of the aristocratic European families. The firm was appointed fournisseur breveté du Roi in 1819 as well as to the Duc de Berry and the garde meuble de la Couronne. In 1872, the business was acquired by Emile Pannier and moved from their Palais Royal Galleries to Nouvel Opera region at the corner of rue Scribe and rue Auber. In 1885, George and Henry Pannier succeeded their father and gradually developed a company which became noted for the quality of its production. The company supplied furniture and all manners of luxurious objects often having manufacturers supplying individual components which were then assembled to the firm's own design. The firm's work can be found in public collections such as the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d' Orsay, Paris.