LOUIS XV PERIOD "AU CHINOIS" CARTEL In chased and gilded bronze, the movement signed Roger/ A Versailles, inscribed in a case surmounted by a Chinese holding a parasol surrounded by scrolls and garlands of flowers;restorations H.:60 cm (23 ½ in.) l.:32 cm (12 ½ in.) Provenance: Collection of a Belgian amateur. Comparative bibliography : H. Ottomeyer, P. Proschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.119, fig. 2.6.4. Tardy, La Pendule Française, Part I, p.196, fig. 4. G. Wannenes, A. Wannenes, Les plus belles pendules françaises de Louis XIV à l'Empire, Edizioni Polistampa, Florence, 2013, p.101. A Louis XV gilt-bronze cartel-clock On the basis of surviving examples, all of which differ slightly in terms of overall composition and quality of chasing, this model seems to have been quite popular as early as the 18th century. A comparable model, signed by Fortin, is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol I, p.119, fig. 2.6.4 while a second one, the dial signed by François Autray, is preserved in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (inv. 8587). Last but not least, a cartel of this model can be seen in a watercolor by Olaf Fridsberg (1728-1795) in the Stockholm National Museum, depicting the salon of Countess Ulla Tessin (see fig. 1). Among the rare comparable pieces that have appeared on the market in recent years, let's recall the example sold at Sotheby's New York on February 2, 2019, lot 809, or the one sold at Christie's New York on October 19, 2007, lot 205. More recently, an example sold at Artcurial Paris, December 13-14, 2023, lot 26.