Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Extremely rare travel cartel in Boulle marquetry, blue tinted horn, brown tortoise shell, brass and ebony threads, on an oak wood core.
Violin-shaped model surmounted by a small inverted ogee dome.
Beautiful ornamentation of original bronzes, finely chiseled and gilded with mercury, including four snail feet, acanthus scrolls falls, a small gendarme hat cornice, a door frame with shell decoration and a carrying handle.
The brass dial is adorned with twelve enamelled cartridges which indicate the hours in Roman numerals and the minutes in Arabic numerals, thanks to two blued steel hands.
It is centered on an enamelled reserve with the inscription "Pre Margotin in Paris" *.
Original movement, with its suspension in silk thread and its back plate signed "Pierre Margotin in Paris".
Perfect working condition.
French work from the Louis XIV period around 1680.
Dimensions:
Height: 27 cm; Width: 18cm
* Pierre Margotin is a French watchmaker received master in Paris in 1646, juror of his community from 1681 to 1695.
Our opinion :
The small cartel that we present is of the greatest rarity, by its small size (27 cm), by the richness of the materials used and especially for its very innovative shape.
which adopts a skilful play of curves and counter-curves inspired by the designs of the ornamentalist Daniel Marot (1663-1752).
It is probably one of the very first copies in the shape of a “doll's head” produced in Paris and perfectly represents the luxurious watchmaking production of the end of the reign of Louis XIV.
The carrying handle tells us that our little cartel is a travel model, however it sports an extremely neat and rare finish on this type of piece, with an ebony veneer on the rear part, side vents that allow you to admire the luxurious blued steel detents of the movement or even with the presence of small cartouches in blue tinted horn whose motif takes up Louis XIV's initials. (the two L intersecting)
It is obvious that such luxury, especially at this time, sends us back to a leading sponsor.
