Paris

This extremely meticulous sign is the emblem of the Paris locksmiths. It uses a pattern engraved by S. Vallée, no doubt copied from Georges Vallée, a master locksmith in Paris at the end of the seventeenth century: the same figures inscribed in the scroll made of curves and reverse curves, the same key ring shape, the same flower basket motif and the same type of embossed work. But in this case, the monogram is not reversible. The treatment of the basket of flowers is free and naturalistic, with its woven basket and cobs, grapes, leaves and flowers, dominated by a bit whose décor features playing card motifs: spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts. The overall effect, with its openings and the openwork fluted pilaster gives the ensemble an airy appearance. The style of these elements date the sign relatively late in the eighteenth century.