Lot 176
  • 176

François Linke 1855-1946 A gilt-bronze mounted kingwood, sycamore and satinwood flowerhead trellis marquetry meuble à hauteur d'appui Paris, index number 1365, circa 1900-1908

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
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Description

  • François Linke
  • height 42 1/4 in.; width 58 1/2 in.; depth 22 1/2 in.
  • 107.5 cm; 148.5 cm; 57 cm
surmounted with a breakfronted Sarrancolin opera top, opening to one shelf, the lock has been removed to reveal the CT Linke stamp and the number 1356, signed twice F. Linke, once to the right hand side of the gilt-bronze molded border and once to the oval medaillon.

Condition

Overall in good condition with the usual minor scratches, dents and nicks to veneers and carcass consistent with age and use. Slight tarnishing to gilt-bronze in places. The marble with the usual chips to edges and scratches to surface consistent with age, minor chips to top of marble and traces of filler. A mount is most probably missing above the oval medallion as there are three little holes filled with wood filler and a hole is visible to the reverse of the door.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Linke title: Meuble d'appui Louis XVI en bois violette et satine circa 1900-1908

Here Linke has adapted the neo-classical style that emerged at the very end of Louis XV's reign and developed at the beginning of the reign of his grandson Louis XVI. However, although Linke uses almost exclusively neo-classical elements of decoration well known to students of the eighteenth century, he has not used these on any known precedent in terms of the form and proportions of the cabinet. He has adapted it to modern scale and use as he also did so successfully with his, and the sculptor Léon Messagé's, blending of traditional Louis XV and contemporary art nouveau. The model for the present lot appears once in Linke's daybooks as Index Number 964, with both a superstructure resting on the marble top and a platform stretcher joining the legs. For some unknown reason the data was never transcribed into his green registers that were compiled from circa 1901 and this makes the dating of the present lot tentative; it may well predate 1900 which would be consistent with the entry as number 964 in the Blue Daybook 695-1571 or could have been made at the same time as the two other versions which sold in these rooms October 26th, 2006 (ibid), which had work to them as late as 1908.

It was clearly reinstated in Linke's repertoire as Index Number 1365 as shown on the numbering of the lock of the present lot, made by Linke's brother Clément. A previous cabinet of this form by Linke had the number 4130 on the reverse of one of the large acanthus clasps to the corbels at the side of the cabinet. Linke's records show that this mount was called 'Feuille Louis XVI pilastre' and the master model used for casting was chased by the master craftsman Vibert at a cost of 8 francs. A volume of photographs kept by Linke in his showrooms to show to prospective clients includes a variation of the present lot, one that may well have been supplied by Linke to King Fahd of Egypt in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Records show that the cabinetmaker Krumbiegel made at least two of the carcasses for this model. French cabinetmakers almost always cut the wood for two carcasses at the same time, if not four but, with the exception of a piece unique, there were always an even number prepared. Even in Linke's case, the mounts and veneers were not applied until a client commissioned the piece. Three cabinets have already recorded by Sotheby's and it would be logical that the present lot was made at the same time as the odd man out -lot 65 in 'Volume I' (ibid).

Two other variations of the present lot were sold at Sotheby's New York 'Property of a Private Collector, vol. 1', October 26th 2006, lots 65 & a pair as lot 155.

Footnote Courtesy of Christopher Payne.