RETAILED BY ESCALIER DE CRISTAL, PARIS, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The maison Escalier de Cristal, established in the Palais-Royal during the Restauration, specialised in the manufacture of eighteenth century style furniture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The prototype for the present bureau plat, now at the Château de Chantilly, was sold from Hamilton Palace at Christie's, 1st July 1882, lot 878. It was originally commissioned in the 1760s by the Duc de Choiseul and has been attributed to Simon Oeben, elected maître-ébéniste in 1769. A copy of the desk was exhibited by Messrs. P. Sormani of rue Charlot at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. A related copy of the table was sold Christie's, 14 July 1983, lot 109.