French silver skull form memento mori watch Circa 1780

Silver skull shaped key winding verge watch
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A fine French sterling silver memento mori pocket watch in the shape of a human skull made by Jean-Antoine Lépine in Paris, circa 1780. It features a mechanical key wound full plate fire gilded brass movement with a chain driven fusee and verge escapement. The hand pierced and engraved gilt balance cock is decorated with floral scrollwork. It also has a silver regulator scale disc and cylindrical pillars. The movement plate is signed in cursive script L’Épine à Paris. The white enamel dial has Arabic numerals for the hours, a minute track, blued steel hands and a winding aperture near 2 o’clock. The timepiece is housed in a solid silver case, sculpted and hand chased in high relief as a human skull. The upper cranium cover opens on a rear hinge, revealing the dial and movement inside. A circular suspension loop is at the top.
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Diameter: 30 mm
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Height: 40 mm
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Signed: L’Épine à Paris
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Memento mori (Remember that you must die) timepieces represent one of the most intriguing and philosophically profound genres in horological history. Popularized in France and Geneva during the 17th and 18th centuries, skull shaped watches symbolized human mortality alongside the relentless ticking of time.
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Jean-Antoine Lépine, watchmaker to King Louis XV and Louis XVI, was celebrated for his mechanical innovations and master craftsmanship. Housing a miniature chain driven fusee movement within a three dimensional cast silver skull required extraordinary skill. Surviving late 18th century French made watches of this caliber are prized highlights in prestigious horological collections.