François Linke Commodes and Chests of Drawers

One of only three of its kind, this commode was crafted by the famed and highly celebrated ébéniste François Linke. Blending the stunning marquetry of the Louis XV and XVI styles with the elegance of Art Nouveau, the commode exemplifies Linke's skilled craftsmanship. Inspired by François Alix's iconic "Meuble Soleil" design, Linke's creation showcases his signature genius in every aspect of the commode's construction. The superior quality of the breche marble shelves and top, marquetry and ormolu that form the undulating body of the cabinet serve as a testament to Linke’s unwavering dedication to perfection. The craftsman spared no expense, investing significant time and utilizing only the finest materials to create this work of art. Tens of thousands of hand-wrought chisel marks are visible within the ormolu frieze of scrolling foliage. The breathtaking marquetry landscape on the front is perhaps the commode's greatest feature, depicting a radiant sun bursting from behind trees, elegantly enhanced by Linke's unmistakable signature on the lower right molding and on the inside of the inner cabinets. For Linke, winning the coveted Gold Medal at the 1900 Paris Exhibition Universelle confirmed his already solid reputation as France's leading ébéniste. His work had long been admired for its exceptional quality and unique interpretation of the Louis XV style. Born in Bohemia in 1855, Linke moved to Paris in 1881 where he established his now-famous workshop and showroom. Word of Linke's superior work spread quickly through France, and he soon eclipsed even the finest furniture houses in Paris. Today, Linke is counted among the most important furniture makers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his work is dearly coveted by collectors. As one of the most masterful furniture designers and bronziers of his time, François Alix would only supply designs and bronze pieces to the most skilled of his contemporaries. Linke chose this unique design personally and only produced three versions of this remarkable piece, with the first one crafted in 1910. A similar commode is housed in the Royal Collection Trust...

A fine and rare pair of late 19th century French mahogany and gilt bronze mounted mounted by F. Linke. The locks signed . Original Breche D' Alep marble tops. ( Pictured in the 19th ...

Extremely high end louis XV style chest of drawers in marquetry ,marble top, ormolu bronze falls on the sides , finished with clogs on the front and back of the feet ,bear the mark ...

An Important 19th Century French Ormolu-Mounted Mahogany, Tulipwood and Amboyna Commode by François Linke The villefranche de conflet marble top above a frieze set with three drawer...

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...

Pair of singed Linke bronze mounted and parquetry commodes in the Louis XV style. Parisian made cabinets are signed "F. Linke" on the bronze mounts. S...

A wonderful quality late 19th century French Louis XVI style marble top bombe shaped commode, having scrolling foliate gilded ormolu mounts, fine marquetry inlaid panels with flowers...

A fine companion pair of early 20th century gilt bronze mounted Louis XV style chest of drawers by François Linke Surmounted by a Brèche d’Alep marble top above a pair of short dr...

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 Fantastic Late 19th/Early 20th Century Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Commode By François Linke François Linke – Index no. 599 Brèche d’ Alep marble top above one long bronze mounted drawer, the center two drawers bronze mounted with floral wreath and bird, the base mounted with a tambourine and flowing curtains. Signed F. Linke to the right-hand chute, locked stamped Ct. Linke and the number 599. Pictured on Page 493 and Daybook Entry on Page 477 in “François Linke 1855-1946 The Belle Epoque of French Furniture” By Christopher Payne. Designed in 1900, this model commode was conceived en suite with a dressing table, index number 600, and a double bed, number 601. Although clearly started in 1899, a note in the Blue Daybook shows that the ciseleur enriched the chasing on the bronzes much later, in September 1902, and with a fleur de pêcher marble top costing 110 francs. Whereas two of the matching beds and dressing tables were made, Linke made five versions of this commode between 1899 and 1910, with one example made for the compagnie nationale de Buenos-Aires in 1908. 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 in St. Louis, the Liege in Belgium and the 1908 Franco-British exhibition in London. Linke’s highly original designs sprang from the Régence and Rococo styles but were imbued with something quite new – Rococo curves were laden with gilt-bronze sculptural mounts in the tradition of A.-C. Boulle (1642-1732) or Charles Cressent (1685-1758). Stylistically, the new designs still adhered to the Rococo; the novelty, however, was Linke’s fusion of the Rococo with the liveliness and the fluidity of the ‘art nouveau’. The Revue called Linke’s creations entierement nouveau, and continued to say that ‘Linke’s stand...