Escalier de Cristal (The Crystal Staircase) was a Parisian establishment well known for its production of ornamental objects and furniture in bronze-mounted lead crystal. In its atelier, the firm made enameled and wheel-engraved glasses with animal and Japanese-inspired motifs. Carved rock crystal from the Far East was fashionable in Paris in the late 19th century, and Japanese-style mounted vases, such as this one, were probably created to imitate it. This vase may have been designed for the Escalier de Cristal by the Pannier Frères in Paris, or by someone associated with the glass designer Eugène Rousseau (1827–1891).