Cartel with carved and gilded wood, Alsace circa 1752.

Rare and large sconce in wood finely carved and gilded with the leaf.
Model with very rich decoration of Zephyr and Cupid in clouds, rocaille acanthus in rooster crests encircling the bezel, topped by a shepherdess accompanied by her dog.
The white enamelled dial with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes is signed "Ane . Mosbrucker à Saverne "*.
Original movement with ringing on demand by pulling (Hour, half and quarter), modified suspension.

Perfect working condition, revised by our watchmaker.

Original gilding with the leaf (small retouch).

Alsatian work from the Louis XV period around 1750.

Dimensions :

Height: 70 cm; Width: 35 cm

* Antoine Mosbrucker is an Alsatian clockmaker active in Saverne in the years 1750-1760.
He is referred to on page 477 of the Tardy dictionary of French clockmakers, notably for a carved and gilded wooden cartel which is probably the one we present.
He is also known for a production of curious rack clocks.

Our opinion:

The cartel we present, with its cock's crests and its puttis with butterfly wings is clearly inspired by the bronze productions of the master foundryman chiseller of the king Jacques Caffieri (1678-1755).
In addition to its decorative character and its rarity, it is a moving testimony to the ingenuity of provincial craftsmen who have striven over the centuries to imitate the expensive Parisian productions.
It is an answer of the province to the craftsmen of the capital, and in the same way as the arte Povera, the relative fragility of the technique and its use on order, make today these pieces rarer than the original productions.
Indeed, if a few gilded wooden clock cases have come down to us, few are large and as finely carved as the one on our cartel.
To our knowledge, the cartel we present is one of the most beautiful pieces of this type.