Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.16191

The Crystal Staircase (after), Large Japanese-style carved wooden bench with lion and Foo dog heads

Large carved wooden bench in the Japonisme style, France, last quarter of the 19th century, recorded in the sales ledgers of the L'Escalier de Cristal firm under the description "Large Chinese ironwood bench, lion heads, various coats of arms," ​​delivered to a client listed as Loveman. The corresponding sketch, preserved in the firm's archives and published in the book *L'Escalier de Cristal, le luxe à Paris 1809–1923*, confirms the identification of this piece. The price recorded in the ledger is 950 francs, attesting to the level of production. L'Escalier de Cristal, founded in 1809 on the rue de Richelieu in Paris, was one of the capital's most renowned luxury houses, specializing in ceremonial furniture, objets d'art, and oriental curiosities. The firm notably sold top-quality Japanese furniture, in collaboration with the major Parisian workshops specializing in this style. The frame rests on four cabriole legs with ball feet, connected by an openwork stretcher decorated with interlaced Greek key patterns centered on a stylized palmette. The apron, treated as an openwork band, is dominated on the front by a high-relief dragon mask—a taotie figure drawn from archaic Chinese bronze—flanked by clouds and meanders in a geometric fretwork. The armrests, with their plunging scrolls, are punctuated by openwork panels in Wan-style interlacing and terminate at the four corners with fantastic animal heads sculpted in the round: dragon heads with open mouths at the lower scrolls, and Foo dog (shishi) heads crowned with scales at the upper scrolls. The seat upholstery, in antique olive-green velvet, needs replacing.