Louis XVI period cartel d'alcove
Dial and movement signed by the clockmaker Jean-Gabriel Imbert, master in 1776
Chiselled and gilded bronze
Chime on demand and a power reserve of approximately ten days
White enamel dial signed Imbert l’Ainé, the reverse of which bears the signature of the enameller Barbezat 1776. The spring is signed Richard and also dated 1776.
The top of a vase with handles, flanked by acanthus leaves and laurel branches held in place by ribbon bows. Decorated with friezes of medallions. Topping the vase is a cluster of acanthus leaves and a split seed.
H 51 cm L 26 cm
Jean-Gabriel Imbert was one of the leading Parisian clockmakers of the last quarter of the 18th century. Initially working as a journeyman, he became a master craftsman in 1776 and opened his own workshop. He quickly gained a great reputation and was elected representative of his guild in 1780. Like the finest watchmakers of his day, he collaborated with the era’s leading craftsmen on the production of the cases and dials for his clocks, notably with the bronze casters Bonnet, Morlay, Osmond and Poisson, and the enamellers Barbezat and Merlet. In the 18th century, his works were owned by the most distinguished connoisseurs, particularly the Marquis de Brunoy, the Duke of Deux-Ponts, the Viscount de Rochechouart and the wife of the fabulously wealthy farmer-general Jean-Maurice de Faventines.
A display case containing a very similar but larger box is kept at the Louvre Museum, alongside a barometer (Inv. OA 5191).
