François Linke 1855 - 1946 A PAIR OF LOUIS XV STYLE GILT BRONZE MOUNTED KINGWOOD, OEIL DE VERMEIL CUBE PARQUETRY AND BOIS DE BOUT FLORAL MARQUETRY VITRINE CABINETS Paris, circa 1910, index number 1522

the top fitted with two glass shelves, one cabinet opening to one shelf, the other to two, one lock has been removed to reveal the Clément Linke stamp and the index number 1522, the feather crest mounts each with the FL mark and the number 1794 from the bronze master model, three original keys each impressed with the index number 1522.

Christopher Payne,  François Linke 1855 – 1946 The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 359, pl. 396, for an example of the chutes à caryatids on index number 168

Overall in good original condition. Original gilding slightly tarnished. The veneered carcass with the usual minor scratches and dents consistent with age.
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.

Linke title: "Bahut vitrine" Louis XV, bois de violette et quadrille satine avec marqueterie a fleur ton sur ton, la partie du bas en bahut porte pleine, le haut en vitrine, , haut 2m largeur 0.75 prof 0m 50 Prix 3500"

It is difficult to date an item precisely with an index number in the range of the present lot as this was Linke's most productive period and the sequence of numbers does not necessarily indicate a date of manufacture. However, the circa date of 1910 is consistent with other Linke models in this range. There is no direct Messagé input into the design although some of the mounts were master models that he worked on before his death in 1901. Linke has inventively adapted a bahut form that he was using as early as the 1880s into a support for the vitrine with the complex arrangement of serpentine glass panels. The early style of the base is underlined by the choice of mounts, at first glance relatively simple, but they follow the complex bombé form of the door and legs in the same way that Linke's mentor in Paris, Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener  perfected in the late 1870s. The mounts perfectly follow both the form and the parquetry inlay. Linke has inlaid the cube parquetry geometric veneer for the doors with a sprig of foliage that his marquetry cutter, Labbé worked to such perfection for the Linke workshop. The kingwood veneers around the top and bottom doors are in the traditional manner of the Régence and Louis XV periods of the second quarter of the eighteenth century, angled at 45 degrees. The corner mounts or chutes on the lower part with the female heads were used constantly by Linke. Called chutes à caryatids, they can be seen, amongst other examples, on the table vitrine Linke index number 168.

Footnote courtesy of Christopher Payne.