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Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Table Vitrine by François Linke, circa 1900

$65,033.13
£48,000
€56,164.83
CA$89,587.43
A$100,332.27
CHF 52,351.74
MX$1,225,515.60
NOK 666,066.43
SEK 627,847.44
DKK 419,151.23

About the Item

A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Table Vitrine by François Linke. French, circa 1900. Linke Index Number 131. The lockplate signed 'F.Linke', the mounts variously incised 'FL', the escutcheon stamped 'FL 2385'. The lock plate stamped to the reverse 'CT LINKE' '131'. This rare vitrine table with its distinctive shell mount to the frieze is a fine example of Linke's collaboration with the sculptor Léon Messagé, with whom he worked for his gold medal winning stand at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. Linke first made this design in the late 1890's and the final example in 1919. A watercolour design for the vitrine re-envisioned as a jardiniere survives in the Linke archives and is illustrated in C. Payne, 'François Linke 1855-1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture', pl. 519. Literature: Payne, Christopher. François Linke, (1855 - 1946), The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors' Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2003; p.247, p.441, pl. 519. 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.
  • Creator:
    François Linke (Cabinetmaker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30.32 in (77 cm)Width: 29.93 in (76 cm)Depth: 22.45 in (57 cm)
  • Style:
    Louis XV (In the Style Of)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Bronze,Wood,Gilt
  • Place of Origin:
    France
  • Period:
    Late 19th Century
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1900
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Brighton, GB
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: B718831stDibs: LU1028014630131

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