A Louis XIV gilt-bronze mounted brass and tortoise shell marquetred mantel clock, the clock case attributed to BVRB Ier, circa 1715, the movement signed by Claude Martinot

Claude Martinot, King's watchmaker at the Louvre galleries between 1718 and 1742. 

The marquetry and gilt bronze ornamentation on our clock are most likely from a Paris workshop of the 1715s, and even more so from the work of BVRB I (c. 1660-1738), based in Paris and father of the equally famous BVRB II. The marquetry is full of downstrokes and more fanciful than the one that can be found on panels by André-Charles Boulle, and incorporates more recurrent naturalistic motifs such as foliage and branches, while using the traditional repertoire of arabesques and grotesques popularized by Jean Bérain. The use of large leafy clasps and the insertion of masks typical of the period are constant in his work on clock cases.

Specializing in the production of Boulle marquetry cartels, pendulums and regulators, BVRB I became a master in 1722. His reputation must then have been excellent, as attested by the prestige of some of his customers: the Duchess of Retz and Prince Elector Maximilian of Bavaria in particular. His output has remained little-known, even ignored until recently, and is divided between Louis XIV and Regency-style furniture and clocks. His after-death inventory, drawn up on January 7, 1738, mentions almost exclusively cases of clocks, some in Boulle marquetry.

A clock close to this one from the early 18th century, whose attribution had remained uncertain, was sold at Sotheby's New-York on April 19, 2012, lot 44. The structure of the decoration is identical: The upper part of the case terminates in a broad, leafy clasp, followed by a mask in the lower part and four flared feet. The dial insertion is also similar. Only three versions of this clock model are known, with a few variations: two are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and an identical one was sold by the Ader-Picard-Tajan firm, Palais d'Orsay, on June 13, 1979.