Veuve Désarnaud at the Escalier de Cristal - portrait of the Duchesse d'Angoulême

Portrait in crystal-ceramics
Porcelain bisque and crystal
Ormolu bronze frame
Dimensions: D. 7 (cm.)
Paris, circa 1815 - 1829

Very rare medallion representing SAR Madame, duchesse d'Angoulême, in profile to the right, after the Gayrard medal. It is set in a period bronze frame with knurled decoration and gilded with mercury.
The reverse is signed ''A l'Escalier de Cristal A Paris.

Crystal-ceramics signed ''A l'Escalier de Cristal'' from the Veuve Désarnaud period are exceedingly rare, unlike those executed by Desprez, for example.

L'Escalier de Cristal under the Restoration
Marie Jeanne Rosalie Désarnaud (1775 -1842) opened a store in the galleries of the Palais Royal in 1808 with her brother Philippe Auguste Charpentier (1781-1815), a talented engraver of semi-precious stones and crystal. The business quickly acquired a solid reputation. The products on offer soon combined gilded bronze, crystal and hard stones, as well as porcelain. In 1813, an atypical staircase with crystal balusters was installed, becoming the store's emblem, part of which is still preserved today. Sole owner of the store after her brother's death in 1815, the widow Désarnaud continued to develop her business. She set her sights on an aristocratic clientele, obtaining a patent as “supplier of the King's crystals”. She took part in the 1819 exhibition at the Louvre, where she was awarded a gold medal for crystals decorated with gilded bronzes. It was during this exhibition that she presented her crystal and gilded bronze dressing table, accompanied by her antique-style armchair, also in crystal. In 1829, Marie Désarnaud sold her business to Jacques Boin, a cutter-engraver also working in the Palais-Royal.

The origins of crystal-ceramics in the early 19th century
The rapid development of the crystal manufactures (Saint-Louis, Montcenis and Baccarat) was made possible by a favorable economic climate and a supply of top-quality raw crystal, as evidenced by certain exchanges with the Vonêche manufactory. In the space of two decades, production capacity became absolutely enormous, and the range of objects produced became even more diversified. At the same time, the neoclassical trend in Europe was evident in the mass distribution of copies of antique cameos. These were initially presented in frames, and were very popular. Saint Amand is credited with the first attempts to include cookie cameos in crystal. This know-how was twofold, since it involved not only mastering cameo carving, but also mastering the composition of cookie pastes and their firing. It takes around ten years to produce successful pieces. Most of them feature the effigies of influential contemporary figures: the Emperor, his wife, Louis XVIII, the Comte d'Artois, the Duc de Berry and his wife, and the Duchesse d'Angoulême.

Condition report: minor wear to gilding of frame