ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Although this table à thé is apparently unsigned, the attribution to Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener (fl. circa 1875-1900) is based upon the highly distinctive 'frond-leaf' acanthus corner mounts characteristic of his oeuvre. Subtle variants of this model are known and one example, also unsigned, sold Sotheby's New York, 'A Private Collection: Volume I', 26 October 2006, lot 37 ($54,000). A virtually identical model with an upper tier was supplied by Zwiener to Kaiser Wilhelm II (d.1941) for the Schloss Neues Palais, sans souci, Potsdam circa 1895, and sold Christie's New York, 14 September 1995, lot 453. Another of this model was sold Sotheby's New York, 15 April 2011, lot 295 ($46,875).
Born in Herdon, Germany, in 1849, Zwiener worked in Paris between 1880 and 1895 establishing himself as one of the premier haut luxe cabinetmakers of the late 19th century. His distinctive style expertly fused the high-rococo opulence of the Louis XV period with the latest Art Nouveau. Zwiener was awarded a médaille d'or at the 1889 Paris Exhibition, the jury reported 'dès ses débuts à une Exposition universelle, [il] s'est mis au premier rang par la richesse, la hardiesse et le fini de ses meubles incrustés de bronze et fort habilement marquetés'. A group of furniture he produced for Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.