Japanese crystal and chased gilt bronze bowl signed L'escalier de cristal Paris on the reverse. Pannier Frères & Cie period (Paris, 1885-1923) Circa 1885 Height 9.5 cm - Width: 20 cm - Depth: 11.5 cm Our oval crystal mounted vessel bowl is engraved with plant motifs, waves and stars. It rests on a Japanese-style gilt bronze frame with four dragon-headed feet and clawed paws supporting the base that holds the bowl. On either side, two gilded bronze branches rise up from the body to secure the bowl. L'Escalier de Cristal was one of the most famous decorating houses in Paris in the 19th century. Our bowl is a perfect example of the early Japanese production of the Maison de l'Escalier de Cristal in Paris. The company was best known for its production of ornamental objects and furniture combining bronze and cut crystal. After the Universal Exhibition of 1878, Paris and its collectors were won over by the Japanese craze. To compete with the rock crystal objects from the Far East that were so popular with connoisseurs, the company's workshops produced objects in cut crystal copying oriental models. The bowl may have been made by one of l'Escalier de Cristal's regular suppliers, the Appert frères glassworks in Clichy. A bowl similar to ours in a private collection in Munich is reproduced in the book Japonisme by Siegfried Wichmann published by Thames & Hudson, p 319, fig.864. and mentions a collaboration with François-Eugène Rousseau (1827-1890).