François Linke Furniture

A Near Pair of Belle Epoque Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Vitrine Cabinets, by François Linke, Paris Each with shaped brêche d’alep marble top. The central doors and flaking glazed p...

A Fine Gilt-Bronze and Bois Satiné Gueirdon, By François Linke, Index Number 146. The quarter-veneered top with bois de bout floral marquetry. The shaped frieze set to four sides w...

A Fine Louis XVI Style Patinated and Gilt-Bronze Mounted Centre Table, After The Fontainebleau Model, By François Linke. This fine table has a circular top of burr-thuya wood banded...

A Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bureau de Dame, by François Linke. Signed to the bronze mount ‘F.Linke’. Linke Index Number 1650. This very fine and unusual bureau de dame ha...

A Rare Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Cylinder Bureau. By François Linke, Paris. Index Number 100. France, Circa 1890. The top with three quarter pierced gallery. The cylinder front centred by a gilt-bronze foliate framed oval decorated with floral marquetry and a harp and books representing lyric poetry. Flanked by twin-light gilt-bronze candelabra. The roll-top enclosing an arrangement of four small drawers and five small compartments above a gilt-tooled green leather writing surface. The frieze fronted by a central drawer with spring-loaded secret release and faced with a relief-cast plaque of cloudborne putti representing the arts. The flanking drawers with gilt-bronze acanthus cast handles and fruiting cornucopia...

An important and rare gilt-bronze, mahogany and Bois Satiné centre table, with campan rubané marble top. By François Linke. Linke index number 1103. The g...

A Louis XV Style gilt-bronze mounted bureau plat by François Linke. The rectangular top inset with a green leather writing surface with gilt-tooled border, within a gilt-bronze su...

A rare Belle Epoque gilt-bronze mounted vitrine pedestal By François Linke, Paris. Signed 'F. Linke / Paris'. Reverse of the bronze mounts...

An important gilt-bronze mounted parquetry inlaid piano a queue, by François Linke, the Movement by Erard.  Signed 'F.Linke' on the keyboard cover mold...

A very rare and important exhibition encrier by François Linke and Léon Messagé. French, circa 1900. Index number 709. Signed to the edge 'F. Linke'. This exceptional and ambitious encrier is modelled as two putti, each holding a standard and sitting on the water's edge, the two inkwells with hinged spirally-fluted covers with glass liners. This important inkwell is based on Léon Messagé's celebrated sculptural group 'La Source' and was originally intended by Linke to form part of his spectacular Stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Like seven or eight other pieces originally intended for inclusion on the Stand, it would seem the encrier was a casualty of both Linke's over-ambitious production schedule and the financial burden that the manufacture of such ornate and high quality work imposed. It was eventually shown on the Stand in September after the gilding was finished by Picard at a cost of 90 French francs. The costs of the model were very high: some 2024 francs (of which Message's combined fee was 1158 francs 40 centimes), underlining the originality and complexity. The 1900 Exposition example was sold, along with three important pieces of furniture from the Stand (the Grand bureau and associated armchair, and the Bahut Louis XV Mars et Vénus), to the South African banker and diamond merchant Solomon Joel. A further six encriers were produced up until 1925. Object Literature: Payne, Christopher. François Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture, p. 90, pl. 97; p. 149, pl. 157; p. 150; pp. 182-183, pls 197 & 198 as exhibited at the Liege exhibition in 1905 & p. 480 for the original notes in Linke's Blue daybook of the late 1890s. François Linke (1855 - 1946) was the most important Parisian cabinet maker of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and possibly the most sought after cabinet maker of his period. He was born in 1855 in the small village of Pankraz, in what is now the Czech Republic. Records show that Linke served an apprenticeship with the master cabinetmaker Neumann, then in 1875 at the age of 20 he arrived in Paris where he lived until he died in 1946. It is known that the fledgling Linke workshops were active in Paris in the Faubourg St. Antoine as early as 1881, and during this time he supplied furniture for other more established makers such as Jansen and Krieger. The quality of Linke's craftsmanship was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries and reached its peak with his spectacular Stand at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, where his Grand Bureau took the Gold Medal. He gambled his fortune and reputation on this Stand, exhibiting several breathtaking items of furniture with sculptural mounts of the most exceptional quality and proportion. His gamble worked and his reputation was established to such an extent that Linke continued to be the pre-eminent furniture house in Paris until the Second World War. As the Art Journal reported in 1900 on Linke's Stand: 'The work of M. Linke ... was an example of what can be done by seeking inspiration amongst the Classic examples of Louis XV and XVI without in any great sense copying these great works. M. Linke's work was original in the true sense of the word, and as such commended itself to the intelligent seeker after the really artistic things of the Exhibition. Wonderful talent was employed in producing the magnificent pieces of furniture displayed....' The formation of Linke's distinctive style was made possible by his collaboration with the sculptor Léon Messagé. Together Linke and Messagé designed furniture for Linke's 1900 exhibition Stand, with exuberant allegorical figures cast in high relief, that exemplified Linke's ability to seamlessly merge the different mediums of wood carving, bronze and marquetry into a dynamic unified whole. Today Linke is best known for the exceptionally high quality of his work, as well as his individualism and inventiveness. All of his work has the finest, most lavish mounts, very often applied to comparatively simple carcasses. The technical brilliance of his work and the artistic change that it represented were never to be repeated. Bibliography: Payne, Christopher. François Linke, (1855 - 1946), The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors' Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2003. Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions - London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900, Antique Collectors' Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2006; pp. 298 - 300. LeDoux - Lebard, Denise. Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Les Editions de l'Amateur, (Paris), 1984; pp. 439-43. Revue Artistique & Industrielle, (Paris), July-August 1900. Coral Thomsen, D. (ed), The Paris Exhibition 1900, The Art Journal, 1901; p.341. Léon Messagé (1842-1901) had a brilliant, but short lived career. He is best known for his incredible sculptural collaboration with François Linke for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A gifted sculptor, Messagé was also responsible for much of the design and creative work for Roux et Brunet and Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener. Messagé enjoyed great success as a designer/sculptor before his collaboration with Linke. Indeed he was mentioned as a Gold Medal winner at the 1889 International Exhibition and was especially praised for his work on a cabinet by Zwiener. He came into contact with Linke in 1885 and it appears from then on Linke employed him on a regular basis. Messagé was primarily influenced by Rococo ornament but he strove to re-interpret it. He did not produce slavish copies, and his original approach can be appreciated in Linke's celebrated Grande Bibliothèque and Grand Bureau exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A number of drawings by Messagé are recorded and after his success at the exhibition of 1889 he was encouraged to publish his designs. 'Cahier...

A fine Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted mahogany bombé vitrine by François Linke. Signed to the corner clasp 'F. Linke'. This elegant...

A rare gilt-bronze mounted mahogany Folio document cabinet by François Linke, with a unique locking system by Clément Linke. French, circ...

An Empire style gilt-bronze mounted marquetry buffet cabinet, by François Linke, Paris. This handsome buffet or side cabinet has its original Swedish green marble top. The veneers are of the finest figured acajou flammé. The frieze is fitted with a long drawer with citronnier and ebonised marquetry panel depicting a Etruscan chariot...

A Rare Belle Epoque Gilt-Bronze Mounted Parquetry Inlaid Centre Table, By François Linke. The Mounts Designed by Léon Messagé. Signed 'F. Linke'. This opulent centre table has a beautifully patterned onyx top inset within a gilt-bronze moulded surround signed 'F. Linke'. The curved frieze centred to each side by a shell shaped mount. The front fitted with a central drawer. The apron mounted with swept acanthus and trailing hibiscus. The corners with female busts with ribbon-tied bodices. On cabriole legs. France, Circa 1900. Linke, François François Linke (1855 - 1946) was the most important Parisian cabinet...

A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bombé Vitrine With Vernis Martin Panels, by François Linke. French, Circa 1900. Signed 'F. Linke' to one bronze mount. The reverse ...

A Rare Louis XV Style Giltwood Fauteuil By François Linke, Paris. The scroll and channelled frame beautifully carved with rocaille...

A Magnificent Regence Style gilt bronze Mounted Trellis Parquetry Bureau Plat by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Linke Index No. 795. Signed to the gilt bronze border ‘F....

A very rare Louis XVI style gilt-bronze and glass, Pendule a cage, by Francois Linke, with a white marble base. Linke Index no. 076'. Linke Title: 'pendule a cage'. Signed to th...

An Exceptionally Rare and Important Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Inlaid Centre Table by François Linke, the Mounts Designed by Léon Messagé. Linke Index No. 930. Signed 'Linke' to the upper bronze moulding. Stamped 'FL' to the reverse of the bronze mounts. Stamped to the carcass 'Made in France’. Of exhibition quality this magnificent table has a fine marquetry inlaid top and sumptuous gilt-bronze mounts, designed and sculpted by Léon Messagé. The shaped gilt-bronze mounted serpentine top is finely inlaid with scrolling bois de bout floral marquetry, above an undulating frieze set to the front with a long drawer and centred by a female mask, the sides are mounted with exuberant scallop-shell mounts and the angles with lively and emotive female espagnolettes emblematic of Modestie and Coquetterie; the table is raised on cabriole legs terminating in shell-capped scrolled sabots. A rare example in Linke’s oeuvre, the table is a variation of a larger example index number 930, described by Linke as modèle riche, which included an elaborate stretcher with banner-bearing cherubs based on Léon Messagé's celebrated sculptural group 'La Source' (illustrated C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003; p.172, Pl. 186). Linke workshop's cliché of the larger modèle riche is illustrated in C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003; p.483. The exceptional sculptural mounts are characteristic of the very finest 19th Century furniture created through François Linke and Léon Messagé’s collaboration. Messagé’s enhanced Louis XV Rococo style embraces the asymmetrical lines of designers such as J.A. Meissonnier, to create lively and emotive figures linked by sinuous encadrement, but cleverly modernised to reflect the surge of popularity of the Art Nouveau. The female busts, referred to by Linke as Coquetterie et Modestie, although reminiscent of the paintings of François Boucher and Flaconet have moved on in their design from the classical espagnolette, introduced by Charles Cressent in the 18th century, to become something new and vital. Designed for the celebrated 'Commode coquille: Coquetterie et Modestie' (index 559), presented at his award-winning stand at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, (C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003; p.142-144, pl. 151), Linke was obliged to purchase their design at a tremendous cost from Messagé. First castings began in 1897 and they proved fruitful for Linke, becoming a favourite mount, repurposed by Linke for use on a number of important designs. The larger version of the current table was intended to be displayed en suite with the commode but was not ready in time for the exhibition. It was first exhibited at the Salon des Industries du Mobilier in 1902, and again in Liège in 1905 (C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003; p. 170-173). Available in three sizes, 132 cm x 72 cm, 138 x 75 cm and an even larger version (index no. 965) the design proved popular with Linke’s clientele, which included commissions supplied to Elias Meyer in 1909 (Illustrated C. Payne; p.243, pl. 258), Madame d’Astoreca in 1910, Antonio Devoto...

A fine Louis XVI style gilt-bronze mounted and parquetry inlaid centre table, by François Linke. Signed 'F. Linke' to the bronze rim. Stamped 'FL' to the reverse of the bronze mo...

A fine Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted petit corner vitrine by François Linke. The gilt-bronze mounts stamped to the reverse 'FL'. The back of the lock stamped 'C.T. LINKE'. ...

A gilt bronze-mounted mahogany desk chair by François Linke. French, circa 1910. Signed 'F. Linke' to one acanthus clasp. Linke made six versions of this chair in two sizes...

A fine gilt-bronze mounted mahogany centre table with an onyx marble top by François Linke. Linke Index number: 118 Linke title: 'Table Louis XVI, bois d'acajou bronze dorés.' ...

A gilt-bronze mounted parquetry envelope card table by François Linke. Signed to the gilt-bronze 'Linke'. This fine card table has a swivel top, with four 'envelope' panels, ...

A fine Louis XV Style gilt bronze mounted table Vitrine, by François Linke, the mounts designed by Léon Messagé. Index Number 131. This elegant tabl...

A Louis XV style marble and gilt-bronze mounted table Ambulante attributed to François Linke. French, circa 1880. A Louis XV style marble and gilt-bronze mounted table Ambulant...

An impressive pair of Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted mahogany vitrines by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Signed to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘LINKE’. Each ...

A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Table Vitrine by François Linke. French, circa 1900. Linke Index Number 131. The lockplate signed 'F.Linke', the mounts variousl...

A fine gilt-bronze mounted mahogany and satine bookcase by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Linke Index No. ‘1131’ Inscribed ‘F. Linke’ above the center right-hand door. ...

A Louis XV Style gilt bronze-mounted parquetry inlaid writing-table, by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Stamped 'FL' to the reverse of the centre bronze mounts to the front...

A rare gilt bronze mounted marquetry pedestal desk by François Linke. French, circa 1900. Linke Index Number 711. Linke title ‘Bureau LXV à 8 pieds’. Stamped to the insi...

An important Louis XVI style gilt bronze-mounted commode, after the model by Jean-Francois Leleu by François Linke. French, circa 1910. Linke index number: 1127. Linke title: 'Commode Louis XVI, Bois d'amarante et de rose.' Signed ‘Linke’ to the right-hand side chute. This distinguished commode is quarter veneered in mahogany with bois de violette banding and boxwood stringing. It is furnished with finely cast gilt-bronze mounts and surmounted by a brèche violette marble top. It appears that Linke bought the rights to make this commode from the Vente Cueunières in 1902, although there is no trace of it being made by him until the summer of 1908 and there is no entry in the Blue Daybooks for this model. The green registres have two pages devoted to the making of the commodes, the first at a cost of 1,540 and 40 centimes, with eight more made in the intervening years, the last, a pair, in 1927 with the cost price escalating to 8,529 francs. The registre is not entirely clear, but it appears that Clément Linke, father and son, made the locks for this model. The cabinetmaking was exclusively by Guntren who took 496 hours per commode, paid 85 centimes in 1908 rising to 5 francs 75 cents for the last pair. Linke priced this commode at 3,000 French francs, noting in his book 'original est de Leleu est à Trianon.' The original commode by Leleu, on loan from the Petit Trianon, is shown in a line engraving in the retrospective part of the Exposition de l' Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1882, De Champeau & Others, 'Les arts du bois,' pub. Quantin, 1883, p. 80. The commode entered the Petit Trianon in 1867 on the occasion of an earlier exhibition dedicated to the memory of Marie-Antoinette, organised under the patronage of the Empress Eugénie. Jean-François Leleu A pupil and later collaborator with Jean-François Oeben, Jean-François Leleu became maître on the latter’s death in 1763. His work can be divided into two concurrent but distinct styles: the first owing more to the legacy of Oeben, being of large, solid forms, more noble in style; the second, although retaining the clean, definite lines of the first, being an exercise in elegance and understatement. It is this second style for which Leleu is chiefly remembered and which the present commode, with its lightly bombé form and restrained frieze mounts, is a principal example. Literature: Payne, Christopher. François Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, (woodbridge, UK), 2003; p. 502, for the black and white cliché of index number 1127 Meyer, Jonathan. Great Exhibitions, Antique Collectors club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2006; p. 298 - 300. Pradère, Alexandre. French Furniture Makers; p. 340, fig. 398; and P. Arizzoli-Clementel. Versailles Furniture...

A rare and unusual Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted and marquetry inlaid Bureau de Dame by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Signed to the gilt-bronze rim ‘Linke’. Stampe...

A very fine Louis XVI style gilt bronze-mounted marquetry commode after a model by Jean-Henri Riesener by François Linke. French, circa 1905. Linke Index No. 10. Signed 'F...

A fine Louis XVI style gilt bronze and white marble clock depicting Diana and Cupid, by François Linke.  French, circa 1890. Signe...

A fine Louis XV style gilt bronze-mounted Vitrine with a Brèche d’Alep Marble Top By Franc¸ois Linke Signed to the reverse of the lock ‘CT LINKE/ PARIS’. Linke index number 208. Th...

A Rare Belle Epoque Gilt-Bronze Mounted Parquetry Inlaid Grand Buffet, By François Linke, The Mounts Designed by Léon Messagé. Signed to the right corner clasp ‘Linke’ The enamel...

A unique monumental Louis XVI Style giltwood centre table with a Brèche Violette marble top by François Linke. French, circa 1914. Giltwood furniture by Linke is not only rare, but can be difficult to identify as it tends to be unmarked. This table can however be confidently attributed to Linke, as an early black and white photograph of the piece, Linke index no. 2575, survives in the Linke Archive (see page 428 pl. 501, in Christopher Payne: François Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture). The only one of its kind known to have been produced, it was carved for Linke in May 1914 by the outworker Derivry. It formed part of the important commission of furniture ordered by the Italian born Argentinean banker Antonio Devoto...