attributed to françois linke commode Paris, circa 1885

C. Payne, François Linke, p. 201, pl. 217, for the illustration of the present commode in a black and white cliché.

D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIX Siècle, pp. 435-444

C. Payne, 19th Century European Furniture, pp. 39-40

P. Kjellberg, Le Meuble Français et Européen du Moyen Âge à nos Jours, p. 490, fig. 562

D. Alcouffe et al., Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Vol. I, p. 128-129, for an illustration and discussion of a similar 18th century model by Charles Cressent.

P. Kjelberg, p. 490, illustrates a commode of identical form by Krieger but with seemingly different veneers to the present lot. In the collection of black and white photographic prints in the Linke Archives, there is an identical version of this commode but no glass cliché. However, the veining of the marble top and the veneers on the present lot appear identical to the photograph in the Linke Archive. In his book on Linke, Christopher Payne points out some of the numerous instances of Linke making furniture for the well-established and thriving Maison Krieger, and it might be assumed that this commode was made by Linke in his early years before he signed his own work in the years post-circa 1896. This is consistent with the fact that there is no glass negative, a practice that, seemingly, Linke only started in the latter years of the 1890s. Prior to this date, his work was mainly concerned with supplying the larger concerns and there was little requirement to take photographs of his work to show private clients, the time and expense being too much for a small but growing firm. It might be assumed that Linke later acquired the photographic print from Krieger for his records, as Linke's business expanded after his success at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900.