Rare Mahogany Empire Revival Salon Suite by François Linke, circa 1910

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Rare Mahogany Empire Revival Salon Suite by François Linke, circa 1910

About the Item

A rare gilt-bronze mounted mahogany Empire Revival salon suite by François Linke. French, circa 1910. Stamped to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘FL’. The original tacking underneath the chairs stencilled 'LINKE PARIS'. The salon suite comprises a mahogany canape a set of four mahogany side chairs with gilt-bronze crossed arrow splats and a mahogany stool. The canapé has a pale green silk with gold thread, rectangular upholstered back and seat with gilt-bronze mounted tapering square section legs to the front and sabre legs to the rear, terminating in lion paw feet. The stool has a rectangular upholstered top in pale green silk and gold thread above four tapering square section legs united by an x-shaped stretcher. 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. Dimensions: Canape: Height 96cm width 150cm depth 59cm Height 38inches width 59inches depth 23nches Chairs Height 83cm width 41cm depth 38cm Height 33inches width 16inches depth 15inches Stool Height 51cm width 100cm depth:40cm Height 20inches width 39inches depth 16inches.

Creator:
François Linke (Cabinetmaker)
Dimensions:
Height: 37.8 in (96 cm)Width: 59.06 in (150 cm)Depth: 23.23 in (59 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 6
Style:
Empire Revival (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Mahogany,Gilt
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1910
Condition:
Seller Location:
Brighton, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: B712211stDibs: LU1028012951801