Rare Pair of 19th Century Vitrines by Francois Linke

This exquisite pair of French marquetry inlaid, marble topped, bombe-shaped vitrine showcases in the manner and after 'Gouffel'. Each vitrine features intricate inlays of various woo...

A very good quality pair of late 19th century French mahogany bow fronted display cabinets, each with a gallery to the top, gilded ormolu foliate and molded mounts, central doors with a glass shelf within, a frieze drawer above a shelf beneath with a paneled back and raised on elegant cabriole legs. Signed; Paul Sormani (1817-1877), one the most important cabinetmakers of the 19th century, was born in Venice. Having trained as a cabinetmaker, he moved to Paris where he opened his first shop in 1847 specializing in furniture made in the Louis XV and Louis XVI style. When she decorated her palace, Empress Eugenie, the wife of Emperor Napoleon III, who was particularly fond of furniture in the 18th century styles, engaged Sormani to create spectacular pieces to compliment her period examples. Sormani was able to meet the Empress’s high standards with the excellent quality of the cabinet work, bronze mounts, use of lacquer and unusual marbles. Sormani’s firm was a maker of fine “meubles de luxe”, (deluxe furniture) whose work was described in the 1867 Exposition Universelle catalogue as “toute sa production revele une qualite d’execution de tout premier ordre”. He received a medal of premiere classe at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, followed by another medal at the 1862 exposition in London The workshop also made eclectic furniture...

A fine quality late 19th century marquetry inlaid bombe fronted French Louis XVI style Vitrine, having its original Breche Violette marble top, wonderful scrolling foliate chiselled ...

A fine quality late 19th century French bombe shaped display cabinet in the Louis XVI style, having wonderful scrolling gilded ormolu mounts, original marble to the tops, serpentine ...

An impressive pair of Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted mahogany vitrines by François Linke. French, circa 1890. Signed to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘LINKE’. Each ...

A Near Pair of Belle Epoque Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Vitrine Cabinets, by François Linke, Paris Each with shaped brêche d’alep marble top. The central doors and flaking glazed p...

A Magnificent Pair Of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Vitrine Cabinets-On-Stands, Attributed to Henry Dasson. Each ‘D’-shaped cabinet with three-quarter balustrade gal...

Rare pair of Louis XV style gilt-bronze mounted curved shape vitrines attributed to J.E Zwiener. Glazed on all sides, they open with two doors framed by gilded and chiseled Rocaille style foliated bronze mounts. Resting on four cabriole legs ending with lion’s paws, the whole is covered by a « brèche de Benou » marble top. This model was probably designed by L. Messagé. Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener was born in Germany in 1849. In 1880 he sets up his extensive workshops in rue de la Roquette in Paris where he creates many original pieces of furniture. He imitated practically every style, ranging from ‘’Boulle’’ to Louis XVI and including extraordinary personal interpretations of the Louis XV ‘’exuberant’’ style. He participated in the 1889 Universal Exhibition, held in Paris, and was awarded the gold medal for his remarkable copy of that most famous piece of furniture, Louis XV’s desk. The catalogue of the exhibition included a wonderful elegy qualifying the work as perfect : « No criticism what-so-ever could be made ». As that other famous cabinet-maker François Linke, Zwiener had most of his bronzes modelled by Léon Messagé whose work was considered as being of the best possible quality. Léon Messagé is a renowned designer and sculptor who integrated in his ornaments related to the Rocaille asymmetry, new lines and shapes announcing the “Art Nouveau” style. But even though, Messagé found inspiration with these 18th century artists, such as Nicolas Pineau or J. A. Meissonier, he didn’t simply copy their work and showed great originality, even extravagance, with some designs contained in "Cahier des dessins et croquis style Louis XV". He realized numerous sketches on grey paper before the execution of a reduced or life sized model of his ornaments, made of wax or terra-cotta. From 1885, Léon Messagé started working with important Parisian cabinet...