Important Cartel Louis XIV-régence – Attribué Aux Ateliers Boulle Fils – Vers 1710-1720

This large cartel clock in Boulle marquetry of brass and tortoiseshell (Hawksbill turtle) is a piece of French horology from the early 18th century. The movement bears the signature of Mynuel, a clockmaker who enjoyed the "Privilège du Roy" (King's Privilege) and was housed in the Galeries du Louvre. His collaboration with the workshops of André-Charles Boulle's sons places this object at the pinnacle of artistic production during the transitional period between the reign of Louis XIV and the Régence.

Resting on a solid oak structure, the body of the object presents a refined decoration:

• The Iconography of Chronos: The top is surmounted by a gilt bronze figure representing Chronos (Time) enthroned upon a sphere. This powerful allegory underscores the philosophical dimension of the object.

• The Central Face: Identified as Ceres, goddess of agriculture and allegory of Summer, she constitutes an essential figure in the horological repertoire. Although the ears of wheat are treated here in the form of stylized floral drops, the overall composition respects the canon of the period. The mascaron, adorned with a necklace of round and oval beads, is crowned by an imposing, radiant, and deeply ribbed shell.

• The Marquetry: The background of the case reveals a richly ornamented decor of foliated scrolls, volutes, and arabesques. The composition, of great symmetrical elegance, combines cut and engraved brass with a brown tortoiseshell background. The decoration develops around a shaped central cartouche, framed by stylized foliage, scrolls, and delicately pierced fleuron motifs. The supple and nervous lines perfectly reflect the aesthetics of the end of Louis XIV's reign and the beginning of the Régence, where ornamentation takes on a freer and more animated character.

• Bronze Ornamentation: The mounts (chutes) and sabots are decorated with acanthus leaves metamorphosing into chimeras, while crowned laughing masks animate the sides with remarkable sculptural vigor.

• Dial: Circular, gilt, with a labyrinth decor. Hours on twelve enameled cartouches, minutes engraved on the perimeter. Cut and fire-blued iron hands.

• Movement: Signed Louis Mynuel. Retains its original silver alloy bell (mechanism incomplete, missing the striking hammer, spring suspension).

• Dimensions: Monumental height of 104 cm | Width: 46 cm | Depth: 22 cm.

• Condition: missing pieces of brass and tortoiseshell, door elements to be reassembled, customary restorations, later additions; the movement "runs" and advances the hours, but a complete overhaul is to be expected.

• Noted losses: The blade of Chronos's scythe, the striking hammer.

This model can be compared to examples held in the most prestigious international collections, notably an identical model preserved at the Château du Champ de Bataille. Combining the rigor of the Grand Siècle with the nascent elegance of the Régence, this cartel clock represents an opportunity for a discerning collector or an institution wishing to acquire a major witness to French decorative arts.