Cartel And Its Wall Console Regency Period, Movement Signed Baltazar Baltazar In Paris

CARTEL AND ITS WALL CONSOLE REGENCE PERIOD France, circa 1730 Movement signed Baltazar Baltazar in Paris Dimensions: total height: 134 cm; height of the cartel alone: 100 cm Imposing cartel and its wall console, entirely decorated with rich Boulle marquetry, in tortoiseshell and brass, partly arranged and partly decorated with pelmets, foliage and garlands with foliage motifs . Both the cartel and the console are enriched with a very beautiful gilded bronze trim, with a figure of Fame crowning the whole. The body of the cartel features a beautiful mask of Diana; the uprights are richly decorated with a gilded bronze garland and Indian heads found on the four volute-shaped feet; the wall console is, for its part, decorated with an ingot mold of heart rays, heads of bearded men and a rich seed of acanthus leaves. The chiseled and gilded bronze dial is decorated with blue enameled Roman numerals on a white background, numbered from I to XII. It is protected by a beautiful curved window. The cartel opens on the right side as well as from the back which is just as richly inlaid. Signed “Baltazar Baltazar in Paris” on the plate and on an enameled cartouche placed under the dial. Restorations and losses (scale elements replaced by horn). Suspension modified. In the last years of the reign of Louis an astonishing perfection of carving and gilding, to adopt the style called Regency. Despite its increasing wealth, the decor still remains symmetrical. The ornamentation of these clocks takes up, while softening them, a certain number of decorative motifs in use during the Grand Siècle, before gradually evolving towards the Louis XV style. The collaboration between cabinetmakers and watchmakers, designing mechanisms of ever-increasing precision, produced more than one masterpiece during the Regency period. In this way, the Regency style is both a transitional style but also a peak of French taste. Watchmaking workshops thrive on the left bank of the Seine and dynasties of artisans pass on their know-how from generation to generation. This is particularly the case of the Balthazars who gave great names to French watchmaking throughout the 18th century.