Etienne Martincourt

Etienne Martincourt was one of the most important Parisian caster-chasers of the second half of the 18th century. He became a master founder in July 1762, the following year becoming master sculptor and painter of the Académie de Saint-Luc. He appears to have rapidly gained fame, for as early as 1766, during a private exhibition-sale held in the workshops of the famous clockmaker to the king Jean-André Lepaute, two clocks were mentioned whose models are attributed to Martincourt. For nearly two decades, Martincourt had a large and wealthy clientele in Paris, working for the Duchess de Mazarin and collaborating with Jean-Henri Riesener, cabinetmaker to Queen Marie-Antoinette, with whom he made some of the greatest masterpieces of the 18th century in France. Among these was the jewelry casket made in 1787 for the Countess de Provence in the Château de Versailles; that piece is today in the Royal British Collection.