Guilloché-engraving lathe

The luxurious mahogany bench, imposing fluted columns and golden gleam of the brass recall the royal destination of this lathe, formerly in the mechanics cabinet of Pierre Élisabeth de Fontanieu, Controller General of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne during Louis XVI’s reign. This lathe allows its operator to chase the surface of a watch case, a tobacco or jewel box with an infinite variety of concentric rosettes. Controlled by a mysterious mechanical ‘score’, the metal spins, oscillates and is engraved with intricate arabesques. The principle of this lathe is its four pairs of cams with different profiles, each determining a particular movement of the drum on which it is mounted. The design engraved depends on the cam selected. The drum’s rotation is powered by the treadle, while this rotation is hindered by the very form of the rosette. Mounted on a spring, the axis performs an oscillating, back and forth, up and down movement, which is reproduced on the piece to be chased, but the tool remains static.