ATTRIBUTED TO ESCALIER DE CRISTAL, THE MOUNTS THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY, THE PORCELAIN KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)

Among the most renowned furniture makers of the 19th century, Escalier de Cristal was founded in Paris in 1804 by Madame veuve Barthélémy Désarnaud (d. 1842), and celebrated for its ormolu-mounted crystal furniture, sold to the French crown and aristocracy. The firm also supplied luxury furnishings, decorations and works of art to an international clientele, including finely ormolu-mounted Chinese and Japanese porcelains, in keeping with the tradition of the 18th century, marchands-mercier, as the present lot demonstrates.
 
For a similar ‘Liuhai and toad’ turquoise boxe, Kangxi period, see: Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, Berlin, 1929, no.985; Another example of this type is illustrated in H. d’Ardenne de Tizac, Les Animaux dans l'Art Chinois, pl.XLIV.