Medici-shaped wine glass in molded and cut crystal, resting on a square base, the central part decorated with large diamond points, the upper part decorated with fine diamond points, the center of which is left blank and engraved with the cipher of King Louis XVIII, an L under royal fleur-de-lis crown.

Attributed to Charpentier, crystal manufacturer in Paris, circa 1814-1816.

Good condition.

H. 14 x D. 7.5 cm.

King Louis XVIII.

Charpentier is listed as an engraver on fine stones in the trade almanac of 1811, active from 1810 to 1816. He is the most famous of the engravers on fine stones and crystal of the Empire period. His reputation is due to his exceptional talent, which engraves matte on matte, hollow and polished, with a delicacy that is close to the miniature. He went into partnership around 1810 with Mrs. Marie-Jeanne-Rosalie Charpentier, daughter of a goldsmith, better known under the name of Veuve Desarnaud, whose store at 153, stone gallery at the Palais Royal would become the famous "At the staircase of crystal”. Empress Joséphine, her children Eugène and Hortense de Beauharnais, were among her prestigious clients. Our glass is the only one known with the cipher of King Louis XVIII, which makes it an important testimony to the art of the table under the Restoration but also for the entire 19th century.

- Two Medici-shaped crystal glasses engraved with the cipher of Jérôme Napoleon, King of Westphalia, contained in their leather cases, one of which is branded with the monogram of King Jérôme and bearing a label "Palais Royal, Galerie des Pierres, n °153, on the rue des Bons enfants side in Paris. Carpenter, engraver of stones and all metals. It engraves crystals in numerous kinds and holds assortment. » (H. 12 cm). They are kept today at the Napoleon I Museum, Château de Fontainebleau, former Didier Segon collection.

- A Medici-shaped liqueur glass in crystal engraved with the cipher of Queen Hortense (H. 8.5 cm), kept at the National Museum of the Châteaux of Malmaison and Bois-Préau, inv. M.M.40.47.2063 (reproduced in the work cited below, cat. 140, p. 88).

Exhibition catalogue, “La cave de Joséphine. Wine under the Empire at Malmaison”, 17 November 2009-8 March 2010, National Museum of the Châteaux of Malmaison and Bois-Préau, RMN, 2009, pp. 88-91.