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.
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...
Marble, Bronze
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...
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...
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...
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...
Bronze, Ormolu
$12,000
H 52.37 in W 61.82 in D 11.82 in
Late 19th Century French Mahogany and Burr Cabinet with Gilt-Bronze Mounts
By François Linke
Located in Miami, US
This exquisite French cabinet, by the renowned cabinetmaker François Linke, exemplifies the elegance and craftsmanship of the late 19th century. Crafted from rich mahogany and adorne...
Mahogany
$59,700 / set
H 32 in W 16 in D 12 in
French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Rouge Griotte Marble and Ormolu Clock Set
By Raingo Frères
Located in New York, NY
A Magnificent Large Antique French 19th Century Ormolu and Rouge Griotte marble clock set of exquisite craftsmanship. This spectacular clock set is comprising a pair of very large ni...
Griotte Marble, Bronze
Empire Style Table Clock and Inkwell
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Empire style table clock and inkwell Origin France Circa 1900 The watch has a Paris machine and it works Golden bronze and Onix materials Very good general condition the marble ...
Bronze
$9,859Sale Price|20% Off
H 64.57 in W 32.68 in D 13 in
French Linke Style Display Cabinet, 19th Century
By François Linke
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality late 19th century plum pudding mahogany Louis XVI style vitrine, having a marble top, gilded ormolu mounts, shaped glass panels to the door and sides, three glass shel...
Ormolu
French 19th Century Vernis Martin Cabinet with Ormolu Mounts
Located in London, GB
A Vernis Martin cabinet in the Louis XVI manner Constructed in mahogany, with extensive ormolu mounts; the square rectangular tapering legs, d...
Ormolu
Pair of Fine French Louis XV Side Tables After Francois Linke
By François Linke
Located in Forney, TX
A pair of magnificent fine quality vintage French Louis XV style gilt bronze ormolu mounted mahogany side tables after celebrated master Parisian ébéniste Francois Linke (b.1855-1946...
Marble, Brass, Bronze, Ormolu
$61,620 / set
H 31.89 in W 18.12 in D 13.39 in
Louis XVI Style Ormolu and Rouge Griotte Marble Clock Set
By Eugene-Antoine Aizelin, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in London, GB
Louis XVI style ormolu and rouge griotte marble clock set French, 1867 Clock: height 67cm, width 46cm, depth 28cm Candelabra: height 81cm...
Griotte Marble, Ormolu
$12,450
H 30.13 in W 20.5 in D 20 in
French Louis XV Style Mahogany & Ormolu Mounted Side Table by Francois Linke
By François Linke
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Fine French 19th-20th Century Louis XV style Mahogany, Satinwood and Gilt-Bronze (Ormolu) Mounted Side Table by Franc¸ois Linke (1855-1946). The square shaped table fitted with a Bre^che Violette marble top with a gilt bronze trim, the body surmounted on each corner with bronze caryatid mounts of female busts with laced-tied outfits, the a parquetry apron surmounted with acanthus ormolu mounts and a lower parquetry shelf, all raised on four cabriolet legs ending with gilt bronze sabots. Signed on one mount: F. Linke. Circa: Paris, 1900. François Linke (1855-1946) was one of the most celebrated ébénistes of his time. Born in Pankraz, Bohemia, Linke moved to Paris in 1875 and six years later established independent ateliers at 170, rue de Faubourg St. Antoine. As was the practice among contemporaries and noteworthy predecessors, such as Alfred Beurdeley and Henry Dasson, Linke initially produced furniture derived from styles popular during the 18th century ancien régime. By 1900, his worldwide reputation as an individualistic master of high quality furniture was already established. However, with a huge display, placing his extravagant pieces in room settings and winning the Médaille d'Or for his Grand Bureau...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
$2,400
H 57 in W 39 in D 18 in
Late 19th Century Indonesian Teak Wood Textile Cabinet with Two Bottom Drawers
Located in Middleburg, VA
Late 19th Century Indonesian teak wood textile cabinet Beautifully carved teak wood with two cabinet doors over two nicely spaced shelves and two...
Teak
19th Century Swedish Gustavian Armoire Cupboard Cabinet
Located in San Angelo, TX
A beautiful Swedish Gustavian cabinet that has been painted and dry scrapped over its lifetime. It dissembles into two parts. This beautiful piece shows the original paint job with p...
Pine, Paint
$3,936
H 12.21 in W 9.45 in D 3.94 in
19th Century Louis XVI Style Bronze Ormolu Mantel Clock Garniture
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
A very fine Louis XVI style figural mantel clock with matching flanking candelabra. The clock is bronze casted and has an ormolu f...
Carrara Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
$6,750Sale Price|28% Off
H 4.5 in W 5.75 in D 3.75 in
Fine Gilt-Bronze & Rouge Griotte Marble Table Clock - François Linke Index No 86
By François Linke
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Fine French 19th Century 'Belle Époque' Gilt-Bronze and Rouge Griotte Marble Table Clock by François Linke (1855-1946) Index Number 86. The clockcase modelled as a tambourine amidst blossoming roses, a mask and fan, on an oval bead-edged marble plinth with recessed panels mounted with fruiting vines, on turned feet, the reverse of the white enamel clock dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes signed 'F. Linke, Paris', timepiece movement. Circa: Paris, 1895. François Linke (d. 1946) was awarded the gold medal for his Grand Bureau at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. He was the most celebrated Ébéniste of his time. Born in Bohemia in 1855, he moved to Paris in 1881. He produced furniture of the highest quality at his workshops at 170, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, and established showrooms at 26, Place Vendme. A much simpler version of this commode, with fewer ormolu mounts and with no marquetry, is illustrated in Christopher Payne's "François Linke 1855-1946 The Belle Epoque of French Furniture" Antique Collectors' Club, 2003 Edition, Index 720, Page 498. Literature Payne, C., François Linke 1855-1946: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, 2003, models illustrated pp. 160, 182, 247 and the black and white cliché on p. 487. Another example of this model was sold at Sotheby's New York, Sale 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Ceramics, Silver and Works of Art on April 22, 2010, Lot 448 'Lot 448: FRANÇOIS LINKE 1855 - 1946 A GILT-BRONZE AND ROUGE GRIOTTE MARBLE TABLE CLOCK PARIS, CIRCA 1895, INDEX NUMBER 86' Sold for $10,000 USD Another example of this model was sold at Christie's New York, Sale '500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe' (PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF RAYMOND AND MIRIAM KLEIN) on October 20, 2011, Lot 146A 'A FRENCH ORMOLU AND ROUGE MARBLE TABLE...
Griotte Marble, Bronze, Ormolu