BY FRANÇOIS LINKE, PARIS, LATE 19TH/ EARLY 20TH CENTURY

This whimsical mantle clock, loosely in the form of a chariot or gondola, is in the high rococo style of the sculptor Léon Messagé as promoted in his Cahier des Dessins et Croquis Style Louis XV, 1890. Messagé’s designs of asymmetry rocaille created 'le style Linke' for which Linke’s stand at the Paris 1900 Exposition universelle was so applauded. An unsigned garniture with the same clock accompanied by pendant candelabra was offered Christie’s, London, 17 March 2011, lot 272.