Empire Cartel Clock In Crest, Thuja Burl And Gilt Bronze, By Raguet Early 19th Century

Rare hanging clock or shield-shaped cartel in Thuya burl veneer and rich decoration of chiseled and mercury-gilded bronzes, the enamel dial signed by Schugh and Raguet in Paris. Movement without pendulum and gong. The use of the Thuya burl became widespread at the end of the Empire period or the very beginning of the Restoration, when the continental blockade made mahogany rare and made native wood veneers fashionable. The gilded bronze decoration is of excellent quality and can be compared to the work of Thomire. Empire style from the early 19th century. Beautiful and interesting model, ideal for completing an Empire atmosphere decor with an original piece that you don't see in everyone's home. Raguet's signature allows the authorship of this rare model to be attributed to Claude Pierre Raguet-Lépine, watchmaker to the Empress. On the death of the first, his son Alexandre Raguet took over for a few years before handing over the business to a successor. Our pendulum is a production from the beginning of the 19th century, probably using a case from the Raguet Lepine background, which was equipped with a gong movement, much more reliable and easy to adjust than wire movements. The bronze work is of excellent quality and can be compared to the work of the best bronze casters under the Empire with whom Raguet Lepine worked: Pierre-Philippe Thomire, F. Rémond, F. Vion, E. Martincourt, the Feuchères and the Duports. Today we find the works of Raguet-Lépine at the Louvre Museum, at the Château de Compiègne, in the British Royal Collection, at the International Watchmaking Museum of La Chaux-de-Fonds, at the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum in Furtwangen, at the Château Wilhemshöhe in Kassel, in the Patrimonio Nacional of Spain, the Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, in the Detroit Institute of Arts and in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Excellent condition, the movement is functional and starts on its own without the need for complicated adjustment, as long as it is suspended horizontally on 2 hooks. The varnish with the pad has been cleaned, a few cracks in the plating, the bronzes are magnificent (the summit palmette de-gilded or redone). Total height with ring: 66cm Diameter of the pendulum: 41cm