Louis XV Martin Varnish Console And Wall Cartel, Circle Of Antoine Foullet

A rare console and matching wall cartel clock in Martin varnish and gilt bronze, Paris, mid-18th century (Louis XV), attributed to the circle of Antoine Foullet.The cartel case, intentionally wider than the console, features a serpentine and asymmetrical rocaille shape, typical of Parisian Louis XV design. It is richly adorned with finely chased mercury-gilt bronze mounts depicting foliage, rocailles and openwork motifs. The enamel dial, with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes, is signed Montjoye à Paris, a Parisian clockmaker active in the 18th century.
The matching console displays a perfectly coherent decoration, with a shaped top, a richly ornamented rocaille crossbar and dark-ground Martin varnish enhanced with polychrome floral bouquets. The ensemble forms a decorative composition typical of Parisian interiors of the second half of the 18th century, where the cartel clock, deliberately wider than the console, asserts a strong vertical presence.
This type of production, combining high-quality Martin varnish and mercury-gilt bronze mounts, is characteristic of specialized Parisian workshops working for clockmakers. It can be attributed to the circle of Antoine Foullet, a Parisian master cabinetmaker admitted in 1749, renowned for his clock cases and collaborations with leading horologists of his time.