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Lot Essay
A volume of photographs kept by Linke in his showrooms to show to prospective clients includes a variation of the present lot, one that may well have been supplied by Linke to King Fuad I of Egypt in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Three variations of this cabinet are known to have been made by Linke under Index Numbers 954 and 1365. Each is of broadly similar form and centred by the same oval roundel of Ceres, flanked by branch-entwined Thyrsus mounts. Firstly, a cabinet identical to the present lot, but with the addition of a raised pediment superstructure to the top flanked by corbels, sold A Private Collection: Volume I, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 October 2006, lot 65 ($156,000). Secondly, a commode variant, without the shelf below, sold Sotheby’s, New York, 22 October 2008, lot 176 ($158,500). Thirdly, a pair of cabinets identical to the present two, sold A Private Collection: Volume I, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 October 2006, lot 155 ($531,200). They were speculated to be possibly unique in the catalogue note - an assumption disproved by the existence of this lot. The note for that pair, courtesy of Christopher Payne, says work started with the cabinetmaker Krumbiegel preparing two carcasses on May 29 at a cost of 414 francs. No year is given but it is speculated to be 1900-01. It is also suggested by Payne (in the catalogue note for the second comparable mentioned above) that records show that Krumbiegel made ‘at least two’ of the carcasses for this model. Further, that ‘French cabinetmakers almost always cut the wood for two carcasses at the same time, if not four but, with the exception of a piece unique, there were always an even number prepared’. The cost of making a pair was some 1571 francs, of which 351 fr. 90 was paid to Vibert for chasing the bronzes, dated May 1, 1905. The latest date is given as September 1908 for 195 francs, paid to Labbé for the parquetry. With the existence of the present cabinets it is now established that Linke made not two, but four, of this rare model.
François Linke (d. 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, Linke's participation in the Paris 1900 exhibition was to be the pinnacle of his career, and prompted critics, such as Charles Dambreuse, to comment: 'L'Exposition de la maison Linke est le gros événement de l'histoire du meuble d'art en l'an de grâce 1900' (see C. Dambreuse, L'Art Industriel à l'Exposition de Meuble de Style - M. F. Linke, in Revue Artistique & Industrielle, Paris, July-August, 1900). Linke's international acclaim following the 1900 exhibition afforded him a high degree of financial stability, not only allowing him to establish a large showroom on the fashionable place Vendôme, but also to pursue new and further distant markets by exhibiting at other international shows. These included the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, where he was again awarded a gold medal, Liège in 1905 and the Franco-British exhibition in London in 1908.
Three variations of this cabinet are known to have been made by Linke under Index Numbers 954 and 1365. Each is of broadly similar form and centred by the same oval roundel of Ceres, flanked by branch-entwined Thyrsus mounts. Firstly, a cabinet identical to the present lot, but with the addition of a raised pediment superstructure to the top flanked by corbels, sold A Private Collection: Volume I, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 October 2006, lot 65 ($156,000). Secondly, a commode variant, without the shelf below, sold Sotheby’s, New York, 22 October 2008, lot 176 ($158,500). Thirdly, a pair of cabinets identical to the present two, sold A Private Collection: Volume I, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 October 2006, lot 155 ($531,200). They were speculated to be possibly unique in the catalogue note - an assumption disproved by the existence of this lot. The note for that pair, courtesy of Christopher Payne, says work started with the cabinetmaker Krumbiegel preparing two carcasses on May 29 at a cost of 414 francs. No year is given but it is speculated to be 1900-01. It is also suggested by Payne (in the catalogue note for the second comparable mentioned above) that records show that Krumbiegel made ‘at least two’ of the carcasses for this model. Further, that ‘French cabinetmakers almost always cut the wood for two carcasses at the same time, if not four but, with the exception of a piece unique, there were always an even number prepared’. The cost of making a pair was some 1571 francs, of which 351 fr. 90 was paid to Vibert for chasing the bronzes, dated May 1, 1905. The latest date is given as September 1908 for 195 francs, paid to Labbé for the parquetry. With the existence of the present cabinets it is now established that Linke made not two, but four, of this rare model.
François Linke (d. 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, Linke's participation in the Paris 1900 exhibition was to be the pinnacle of his career, and prompted critics, such as Charles Dambreuse, to comment: 'L'Exposition de la maison Linke est le gros événement de l'histoire du meuble d'art en l'an de grâce 1900' (see C. Dambreuse, L'Art Industriel à l'Exposition de Meuble de Style - M. F. Linke, in Revue Artistique & Industrielle, Paris, July-August, 1900). Linke's international acclaim following the 1900 exhibition afforded him a high degree of financial stability, not only allowing him to establish a large showroom on the fashionable place Vendôme, but also to pursue new and further distant markets by exhibiting at other international shows. These included the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, where he was again awarded a gold medal, Liège in 1905 and the Franco-British exhibition in London in 1908.