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Lot 129
129
A pair of Louis XV style ormolu-mounted kingwood, tulipwood, marquetry and parquetry bedside cabinets

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. 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.
A pair of Louis XV style ormolu-mounted kingwood, tulipwood, marquetry and parquetry bedside cabinets

BY FRANÇOIS LINKE, INDEX NUMBER 96, PARIS, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Details
A pair of Louis XV style ormolu-mounted kingwood, tulipwood, marquetry and parquetry bedside cabinets By François Linke, Index number 96, Paris, Late 19th/Early 20th century One with shaped Fleur de Pêcher marble top, above a panelled frieze drawer and cupboard door inlaid with Oeil de Vermeil, with white marble-lined interior, on cabriole legs each headed by a foliate clasp, the right clasp signed Linke, on acanthus-cast sabots; the other of similar form, with shaped Brocatelle Violette marble top within a gilt surround, signed to the side F. Linke, the drawer, cupboard door and sides inlaid with floral marquetry The first: 33¾ in. (85 cm.) high; 15¾ in. (40 cm.) wide; 14 in. (35.5 cm.) deep; The other: 34 in. (85.5 cm.) high; 16¾ in. (42.5 cm.) wide; 15½ in. (39.5 cm.) deep (2)
Special Notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The cabinet work for these bedside cabinets took 112 hours, probably per pair. To this had to be added marquetry, casting, chasing and gilding. Daybook 4 shows that one pair of cabinets similar to the present lot were gilded on the 29th July 1891. Other versions were made in 1902, 1904, 1910 and 1921.

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