Offered by Galerie Gilles Linossier
Magnificent so-called “religious” clock characterized by its beautiful Boulle marquetry; brass on a red tortoiseshell background.
Richly decorated with gilded bronzes, it presents an enameled dial forming black Roman numerals for the hours and engraved Arabic numerals for the minutes.
At its center, highlighting the refinement of high-quality French craftsmanship, it presents a very rare feature on clocks of the period, thus defining the months.
The gilded bronze ornamentation is abundant and particularly elaborate.
We can see fine carving work on the dial, depicting rosettes and leafy scrolls.
On either side of it, on each cut corner, cherubs wearing shell crowns and holding a flute in their hand, appear as falls. In high relief and with a finely executed bust, they end with a foliage garland and delicately direct our gaze towards the spinning top feet, chiselled with foliage.
These are enhanced by very highly crafted scrolling foliage uprights and linked together by a campane in the center (decorative elements very present in Louis XIV clocks)
These elements add a visual richness that perfectly complements the luminous beauty of the brass and the vibrant depth of the red tortoiseshell.
Under the dial, forming a cartouche for the artist, two ancient women present with one hand the dial and with the other a richly flowered jar whose center in white enamel, specifies in black letters “Baltazar Martinot A Paris”
The pediment is framed with gilded bronze rods and decorated on each corner with rectangular columns linked together by a gilded bronze frieze with a mask and scroll motif and topped with small covered vases with a stylized foliage motif.
It is very pretty decorated with figures of windings, shells and stylized foliage in engraved brass.
It is surmounted by a frieze decorated with tori of floral ribbons in the middle and dominated by two small urns with long necklines.
The glass sides framed with gilded bronze rods reveal the movement and a repeating pull.
We also find the prestigious signature of “Baltazar Martinot in Paris” (renowned watchmaker of the time) on the movement, thus testifying to the quality and excellence of the watch mechanism.
This superb “nun” is a masterpiece from the Louis XIV period, characterized by its beautiful Boulle marquetry and its fine gilded bronze work. The signature gives major historical and artistic value to this piece.
Beautiful original gilding
Restoration of use and maintenance.
Baltazar MARTINOT, MASTER WATCHMAKER:
The Martinot family was one of the greatest watchmaking families from the 16th century.
They are mentioned as “the longest dynasty in the history of watchmaking. We find ourselves face to face with beings of exceptional longevity and no less exceptional fertility who, for nearly two centuries, held official jobs” Dictionnaires des Horlogers, Tardy, p 438, Paris, 1971.
They are recognized for their clock whose marquetry cases on a tortoiseshell background were often the work of André Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
Baltazar Martinot (1636-1714) is one of the greatest representatives of this prestigious family. A watchmaker from 1660 in Paris, he succeeded his father-in-law Pierre Belon in 1665 as valet-ordinary watchmaker to Anne of Austria and between 1689 and 1695 was watchmaker to the King. Known as “the Elder”, he was considered in his time as one of the most famous watchmakers in all of Europe.
Dimensions: H 58 cm x W 33 cm x D 18 cm
