François Linke

Cabinet and Showcase by F. Linke France Circa 1890 Mahogany, Gilt bronze, "Fleur de pêcher" marble Height: 175 cm; Width: 75.5 cm; Depth: 44.5 cm Exceptional Louis XVI-inspired cabinet and vitrine pair in mahogany veneer, elegantly mounted with chased and gilded bronzes. They are surmounted by a "Fleur de pêcher" marble top underlined by a frieze of ovals, above a frieze of grapevines and foliage centered on a Bacchus mask surrounded by laurel. The display case and cabinet open to a door; the cabinet door is adorned with a lyre and foliage attribute suspended by a chased and gilded bronze ribbon. At the corners, the uprights are formed by two caryatid figures ending in a sheath. They stand on fluted, quiver-shaped legs ending in a spinning top, linked by an openwork brace topped by a flowering urn. Biography: François Linke, born in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) in 1855, started out as a cabinetmaker around 1882 and practiced in Paris until his death in 1946, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Around 1900, at the height of his career, he even opened a branch in Place Vendôme. He specialized in the manufacture of Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture, ambitious both in terms of size and sumptuous bronze ornamentation, which earned him numerous commissions from the late 19th century onwards. Wishing to go beyond eighteenth-century style copies, Linke collaborated with the already famous sculptor Léon Messagé and integrated the sinuous lines heralding Art Nouveau, thus developing a highly personal style. One of his great successes came at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, where the jury awarded him the gold medal for his desk, designed by Messagé, in violet wood and mounted with Louis XV-style bronzes. The "Revue artistique et industrielle" glorified Linke, writing that his stand at the Exposition was the greatest demonstration ever made in the history of art furniture.