Rare Centre Table with a Campan Rubané Marble Top by François Linke

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 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...

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 gilt-bronze mounted parquetry inlaid centre table, Attributed to François Linke. French, circa 1900. The circular parquetry top of diapered trellis with gilt-bronze edging ab...

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...

A fine Louis XVI style mahogany and marquetry centre table with gilt bronze mounts attributed to François Linke. French, circa 1890. This fine marquetry table has a frieze with...

A superb centre table in the Louis XVI manner. Of free standing elliptical form, the mahogany frame richly decorated with finely cast and chased ormolu, and having a thumbnail mol...

A very fine and rare Russian neoclassical style centre table by Jansen. This table with ebonized woods is finely casted in bronze mounts sitting on a tri-pod base having all-over bro...

A fantastic late 19th century gilt bronze-mounted Louis XV style kingwood centre table By François Linke With serpentine-grey and yellow marble top, above a frieze drawer centr...

A rare and fantastic quality late 19th century Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted inlaid marquetry and parquetry center table By Franc¸ois Linke. Franc¸ois Linke. The crossbanded oval top with central parquetry panel surrounded by floral and ribbon tie marquetry, above frieze with four drawers, bronze mounted tapering legs joined by a bronze mounted stretcher. Signed F. Linke to the top corner of one leg Back of lock stamped Ct. Linke and the number 402. Linke was born in Pankraz in Bohemia and was celebrated by the French as one of the greatest ébénistes of meubles de style at the turn of the century. He began his apprenticeship with a Bohemian master at the age of thirteen. Four years later, he toured Austria, settling and working in Vienna for two years. Linke arrived in Paris in 1875, and by 1881 he had established his own small workshop at 170 rue du Faubourg St. Antoine. Taking 18th century styles as his starting point and adapting earlier styles to contemporary taste, Linke produced fine quality furniture, steadily expanding his business during the next 20 years. He firmly established his reputation after receiving a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1900 for his extraordinary Grand Bureau. He continued to use international fairs as a means of exploring new markets, exhibiting at the 1904 World’s Fair...

A Very Special Early 20th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Kingwood, Satiné, Holly and Hornbeam Marquetry “Coquille” Table by François Linke François Linke – Index Number 544 The beautifully curved table excellently designed, with a shell top and of a vegetable marquetry, the top flips open to a decorated marquetry landscape scene with a swan on a lake, with three separate compartments and standing on cabriole legs headed by pierced rocaille-cast clasps running to scrolled sabots. Signed F. Linke to the right hand clasp. The same model is pictured on Linkes’ 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle stand (page 123), along with a large full page colored sample of the table on page 137, in “François Linke 1855-1946 The Belle Epoque of French Furniture” By Christopher Payne. Combining traditional Louis XV values with the modern idiom of the Art Nouveau, this table of unusual and innovative design, is a seminal item of Belle Époque furniture...

A good quality late 19th century French gilded ormolu-mounted centre table. The top having quartered veneers, rococo style mounts, with monopodia supports to the cabriole legs, termi...