An important French ormolu-mounted kingwood and mahogany serre-bijoux

BY FRANÇOIS LINKE, THE MOUNTS DESIGNED BY LÉON MESSAGÉ, CIRCA 1904

Details

An important French ormolu-mounted kingwood and mahogany serre-bijoux
By François Linke, The mounts designed by Léon Messagé, Circa 1904
The domed top with scrolling acanthus and reeds to the angles and surmounted by a figure of Cupid as a warrior, above shaped bombé glazed sides, each centred to the top by a seaweed-draped mermaid mask and to the shaped base with a shield shaped mount cast with oak and acorns and the wing of a dove, with reed-cast angles, the front with a door, the olive-green velvet-lined interior with a pair of glass shelves, on shaped tapering legs alternately headed by a corsetted and draped bust of a woman, joined by a scrolled 'X'-shaped stretcher surmounted by a flower-filled urn, on scrolled foliate-cast sabots, inscribed F. Linke to the upper right side of the front, the reverse of the lock stamped CT. LINKE/SERRURERIE/PARIS
85½in. (217cm.) high; 37in. (94cm.) square at top; 31in. (78.7cm.) square at feet

Provenance

Formerly in the collection of Mayor Hoffheines of Houston.

Exhibited

Exhibited as part of Linke's award-winning stand at the World's Fair, St Louis, 1904

Lot Essay

Together with an example of the 'Barber of Seville' desk and other of his principal works, this splendid serre-bijoux figured as part of Linke's award-winning stand at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis. A rare example in his oeuvre of a vitrine conceived in the round and intended for the centre of a room, this piece is a perfect illustration of the harmonious collaboration of Linke's unsurpassed ébénisterie with Messagé's sumptuous mounts. The latter designed a whole series of mounts exclusively for the embellishment of Linke's cabinetwork, using varied combinations to suit each individual piece. Three examples of the serre-bijoux are known: another example of the present model, currently part of a Californian collection, and a second version with shell mounts where here there are seaweed-draped mermaid masks.

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