The legacy of the Louis XIV taste

This lyre-shaped cartel clock belongs to a typology whose origins lie in the decorative language developed at the court of Louis XIV and perpetuated during the Régence. Its design directly reflects the legacy of Grand Siècle models conceived by artists such as Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) and Pierre I Le Gros (1666-1719), whose compositions established a repertory of monumental and symbolic forms intended for royal settings. The pyramidal structure, the lyre silhouette, and the association of ram’s heads, scrolling foliage and a central mascaron all derive from this courtly vocabulary, originally conceived for fountains, wall decorations and ceremonial objects. During the first decades of the 18th century, these motifs were reinterpreted and adapted to domestic objects, marking a continuity of taste rather than a rupture.



A lyre-shaped cartel

The success of this model is well documented. Variants of the lyre-shaped cartel appear repeatedly in public sales from the 18th century onward, and closely related examples are today preserved in major museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art. The recurrence of this typology, in both wall-mounted and free-standing versions, attests to its enduring appeal among collectors and patrons. Its popularity can be explained by the balance it strikes between architectural rigor inherited from Louis XIV design and the emerging fluidity of Régence ornament, making it particularly well suited to refined interiors of the period.



Jean-Baptiste Baillon (Master in 1727) and Antoine Nicolas Martinière (1706-1784)

The present example is distinguished by the quality of its execution and by the prominence of its makers. The dial is signed by Jean-Baptiste Baillon, one of the most important Parisian clockmakers of the first half of the 18th century, whose workshop operated on an almost industrial scale while maintaining exceptional standards of precision and finish. Baillon’s production supplied an elite clientele, including royal and aristocratic patrons, and his works are today represented in the foremost public collections. The movement of this clock is also attributable to Baillon, confirming the coherence and prestige of its horological components.

The enamel dial is attributed to Antoine-Nicolas Martinière, a key figure in the technical evolution of enameled dials during the 1730s and 1740s. Martinière played a decisive role in the development of large, single-piece enameled dials, an innovation that transformed both the appearance and the durability of French clocks. His collaboration with leading clockmakers, including Baillon, situates this cartel within a network of highly specialized craftsmen at the forefront of technical and artistic progress.



Taken together, the persistence of a model rooted in Louis XIV design, its widespread dissemination during the Régence, and the involvement of eminent craftsmen such as Baillon and Martinière confer upon this cartel clock a particular historical significance. It stands as a compelling witness to the transmission of Grand Siècle aesthetics into the early reign of Louis XV, and to the excellence of Parisian horology at a moment of stylistic transition.