THOMAS BASTIDE (1954) - BACCARAT CANARD DU RESTAURANT LA TOUR D'ARGENT Molded crystal, signed below the base. Height. 12 cm; Width; 13 cm; Depth. 6 cm. Baccarat mark, Paris, La Tour d'Argent. PROVENANCE. Restaurant La Tour d'Argent. 112, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, 8th arrondissement. In 1890, with Frédéric Delair, maître d'hôtel who had become owner of La Tour d'Argent in the mid-19th century, room service took a new turn. He codified the recipe for duck au sang, for which the restaurant became famous: "Tour d'Argent duck". He completed the dish's decoration in front of the customer, and accompanied it with an illustrious service ritual, cutting up the duck with the tip of a fork, without letting it touch the dish. Confident of the durability of his work, in 1890 he decided to number each duck.

Composed of several subsidiaries, the Drouot Group is a major player in the art market. Hôtel Drouot, located in the heart of Paris, has been the world's largest public auction center since 1852. 15 salerooms are available to more than 70 auction houses. The emulation generated by an annual offer of 230,000 artworks from 21 major specialities - from Antiquity to street art - attracts some 3,000 visitors every day. The Group's digital platform, Drouot.com, offers digital sales - Live auctions (live broadcasting and participation in auctions), Online-only auctions (dematerialised auctions) and Buy Now sales (sales of lots at fixed prices). Nearly 2 million items are offered annually by 600 auction houses. Auction news is reported every week in La Gazette Drouot, the leading weekly magazine for the art market and culture published by Auctionspress.