The Crystal Staircase, Louis XIV style showcase, after 1891 скачать в хорошем качестве

The Crystal Staircase, Louis XIV style showcase, after 1891

This Louis XIV-style display cabinet with ebony veneer and gilded bronze fittings was made by L'Escalier de Cristal after 1891. The prestigious house L’Escalier de Cristal was founded around 1808 by the widow Désarnaud. At the end of the 19th century, it was taken over by the brothers Georges and Henry Pannier, who began producing furniture in 1891. In the lower part, the piece of furniture has two leaves decorated with delicate ebony, rosewood and pewter marquetry evoking the creations of André-Charles Boulle at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. This pattern is repeated on the short sides. The junction of the two inlaid panels is concealed by a fluted Ionic pilaster resting on a gilded bronze mask of Apollo also referring to Boulle's furniture. The upper part of the piece of furniture is glazed and has a frame inlaid with tin and brass forming a delicate frieze of leaves. The background is lined with red silk velvet. The signature of the Crystal Staircase is found inside the bookcase leaf. Henry Pannier's notebooks contain a drawing of this window. They indicate that it was ordered in three copies: a pair for Alexander Polovstov, advisor to the Russian court and founder of the Stieglitz museum, and a single pair for a man named “Kunt[z]elman”, a loyal customer of the store.