Léon Messagé
Léon Messagé 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 he collaborated 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 regularly. 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. Several drawings by Messagé are recorded, and after his success at the exhibition of 1889, he was encouraged to publish his designs. Cahier de dessins & croquis, style Louis XV: bronzes, orfèvrerie, décoration, meubles was first published by the sculptor himself, from his Paris address of 40 rue Sedaine. There were five sections with an elaborate title page surmounted by the sculptor's cipher or talisman of a wing, a pun on his name as the messenger to the Gods, a motif he used many times on the handles of furniture designed for Linke. As a sculptor, Messagé was trained to produce a wax maquette or model before working on a piece. For Messagé, it was not just a matter of producing decorative mounts the piece was conceived as sculpture, bronze, timber and marquetry as one.
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Francois Linke Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Marble Mantel Clock Garniture
Located in New York, NY
Exceptional garniture in the Louis XV/XVI style with gilt bronze mounts attributed to Léon Messagé (1842-1901) and Francois Linke (1855-1946), including mantel clock and pair of cand...
Category
Early 20th Century French Louis XV Léon Messagé
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Unique Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Cabinet by François Linke
By François Linke
Located in Long Island City, NY
A unique late 19th century gilt bronze mounted parquetry cabinet by François Linke and Léon Messagé
François Linke and Léon Messagé
This unusual cabinet features a cube parquetry top with a back splash centered with a plume of bronze feathers and flowers, above a long single drawer with a bronze leaf-clasped scallop shell and two handles shaped as wings, the sides headed by foliate and flower-cast clasps. The cabinet was most likely made to store magazines or original phonograph records.
Stamped FL under many of the bronze mounts, the lock stamped CT LINKE/PARIS
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 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...
Category
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Léon Messagé
Materials
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Fine French Gilt-Bronze and Rouge Griotte De Campan Table Clock by Léon Messagé
Located in New York, NY
Maker: Léon Messagé (1842-1901)
Origin: Paris, France
Date: Early 20th century
Size: 11 3/4 in x 9 in x 6 1/4 in.
Signature: signed Messagé to the right side of the lion pelt...
Category
19th Century French Antique Léon Messagé
Materials
Bronze
Louis XV Style Inkwell, Designed by Léon Messagé and Cast By Barbedienne
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Rare Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Inkwell. Designed by Léon Messagé and Cast By The Ferdinand Barbedienne Foundry, Paris.
Designed in the exuberant Rococo style surmounted by a sea...
Category
19th Century French Rococo Antique Léon Messagé
Materials
Ormolu
Louis XV Style Vitrine Table, François Linke and Léon Messagé French, circa 1900
By François Linke
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
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...
Category
20th Century French Louis XV Léon Messagé
Materials
Bronze
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Léon Messagé furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Léon Messagé furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Léon Messagé furniture, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Léon Messagé were created in the louis xv style in france during the 19th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Maison Beurdeley, Lerolle Freres, and Louis Hottot. Prices for Léon Messagé furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $9,500 and can go as high as $80,835, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $37,500.