Desarnaud Crystal Staircase Porcelain Plates Empire Period 19th Century

Marie Jeanne Rosalie Désarnaud at L'Escalier de Cristal. Redcurrant dessert plates. Hard-paste porcelain with polychrome decoration and gilt highlights. Early 19th century. Diameter: 22 cm. L'Escalier de Cristal (1808-1923). Founded around 1808 by Marie Jeanne Rosalie Désarnaud in the galleries of the Palais Royal garden with her brother Philippe Auguste Charpentier, this establishment quickly acquired a significant reputation. In 1812, the company specialized in crystal and gilt bronze, as exemplified by the dressing table of the Duchess of Berry, now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Sole owner of the shop upon her brother's death in 1815, the widow Désarnaud continued to develop her business, acquiring a princely clientele and the title of Supplier of Crystals to the King. In 1819, she won the gold medal for crystal adorned with gilt bronze at the 1819 Exhibition of Industrial Products. Having made her fortune, she sold her business to Jacques Boin in 1829. Probably one of the greatest furniture houses of the 19th century, it can be considered the heir to the 18th-century Mercers. (Literature: Annick and Didier Masseau, *L'Escalier de Cristal, le luxe à Paris 1809-1923*, Monelle Hayot edition)