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Lot Essay
Effectively exhibiting the harmonious collaboration between sculptor and ébéniste, this splendid console is a quintessential example of the genius of François Linke's superior craftsmanship with Léon Messagé's Art Nouveau-infused designs.
Considered sculpture unto themselves, exquisite ormolu mountings were a characteristic of the finest late 19th century furniture, and Messagé's prowess in their design and application was unrivalled. The sculptor triumphantly embraced the asymmetry characterized by Rococo designers such as Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier by creating lively and emotive allegorical figures and undulating grotto-inspired forms all linked by sinuous encadrements finished in matte and burnished gilding by Linke. His collaboration with Linke was preceeded by his association with Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener at the 1889 Paris Exposition universelle for the ébéniste's maginificent serre bijoux, sold Christie's, London, 17 March 2011, lot 409 (£623,650). It is therefore almost certain that Linke first came into contact with Messagé through Zwiener's introduction and the sculptor's designs have since become synonymous with Linke's oeuvre. In 1890, Messagé published his Cahier des Dessins et Croquis Style Louis XV, totalling thirty-six designs, ranging from furniture to silverware.
Such motifs draw from a well of of extensively-documented designs frequently associated with Linke's awe-inspriting creations for the Paris 1900 Exposition universelle, which would forever shift Linke's name with Message's iconic designs. Related designs for a scalloped shell issuing cascasing water linked by delicate chutes are illustrated in C. Payne, Francois Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003., p. 113 pl. 127. The present console is puncutated by the highly sculptural coquille to the central frieze, which prominently appears on Linke’s opulent Commode coquille: Coquetterie et Modestie, index number 559 produced for the 1900 Paris Exposition, on his center-table, index number 965, an example of which was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 November 2014, lot 249 and a small ladies worktable, index number 552 (op. cit. p. 113).
In his seminal monograph on Linke, scholar Christopher Payne illustrates a related console - index number 153 - completed by Linke and documented in his early workshop daybooks circa 1894 (op. cit. p. 55). The early design for this table, 'but not as fully developed as the Messagé-inspired piece of 1900 exhibition pieces', is first documented in Linke's 'Daybook 4', p. 133 (op. cit. p. 59) in the 'unrestained Louis XV style' borrowing from the German designer François Cuvilliés and the engravings of Hoppenhaut of the mid-18th century. Another example of the model is photographed in Linke's luxurious showrooms at the Place Vendôme in 1903. (op. cit. p. 160).
Considered sculpture unto themselves, exquisite ormolu mountings were a characteristic of the finest late 19th century furniture, and Messagé's prowess in their design and application was unrivalled. The sculptor triumphantly embraced the asymmetry characterized by Rococo designers such as Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier by creating lively and emotive allegorical figures and undulating grotto-inspired forms all linked by sinuous encadrements finished in matte and burnished gilding by Linke. His collaboration with Linke was preceeded by his association with Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener at the 1889 Paris Exposition universelle for the ébéniste's maginificent serre bijoux, sold Christie's, London, 17 March 2011, lot 409 (£623,650). It is therefore almost certain that Linke first came into contact with Messagé through Zwiener's introduction and the sculptor's designs have since become synonymous with Linke's oeuvre. In 1890, Messagé published his Cahier des Dessins et Croquis Style Louis XV, totalling thirty-six designs, ranging from furniture to silverware.
Such motifs draw from a well of of extensively-documented designs frequently associated with Linke's awe-inspriting creations for the Paris 1900 Exposition universelle, which would forever shift Linke's name with Message's iconic designs. Related designs for a scalloped shell issuing cascasing water linked by delicate chutes are illustrated in C. Payne, Francois Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003., p. 113 pl. 127. The present console is puncutated by the highly sculptural coquille to the central frieze, which prominently appears on Linke’s opulent Commode coquille: Coquetterie et Modestie, index number 559 produced for the 1900 Paris Exposition, on his center-table, index number 965, an example of which was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 November 2014, lot 249 and a small ladies worktable, index number 552 (op. cit. p. 113).
In his seminal monograph on Linke, scholar Christopher Payne illustrates a related console - index number 153 - completed by Linke and documented in his early workshop daybooks circa 1894 (op. cit. p. 55). The early design for this table, 'but not as fully developed as the Messagé-inspired piece of 1900 exhibition pieces', is first documented in Linke's 'Daybook 4', p. 133 (op. cit. p. 59) in the 'unrestained Louis XV style' borrowing from the German designer François Cuvilliés and the engravings of Hoppenhaut of the mid-18th century. Another example of the model is photographed in Linke's luxurious showrooms at the Place Vendôme in 1903. (op. cit. p. 160).