French Fran�ois Linke Signed Louis XV Art Nouveau Coquille Table

Description

A very fine quality French gilt bronze ormolu mounted Kingwood, Satin, Holly and Hornbeam marquetry inlaid Coquille table, attributed to … more A very fine quality French gilt bronze ormolu mounted Kingwood, Satin, Holly and Hornbeam marquetry inlaid Coquille table, attributed to the leading Parisian ébéniste of the late 19th and early 20th century, Francois Linke (b.1855-1946)

Similarly styled to the Francois Linke croquet table, index number 544, that recently sold for $85,000 at Sotheby’s Paris, April 2019 auction PF1901, Mobilier français du XVIIIe Mobilier, Objets D’art Et Orfèvrerie, lot 177

Elegant sophistication at its finest, combining traditional Louis XV values with the modern idiom of the Art Nouveau, this table of unusual and innovative design, is a seminal item of Belle Époque furniture, the apogee of Linke’s collaboration with his idiosyncratic sculptor Léon Messagé.

The complexity of construction of this small table must not be underestimated, the exceptionally executed masterpiece features an asymmetrical cartouche shaped top embellished with most impressive and intricately complex marquetry-work depicting stylized landscape scene comprising a white swan with mirrored reflection, various exotic woods inlays, scrolling, foliate and ribbon string banding, delicate cross banded border with a brass rim, over a conforming asymmetric base with gently undulating scalloped apron, embellished with brilliant chased and chisled bronze doré mounts, gracefully rising on long slim cabriole legs with richly sculpted and gilded bronze acanthus knee mounts, terminating in finely detailed bronze sabot capped feet. Signed, the back of the ormolu stamped F L. France; circa 1900

Dimensions: (approx)
29" High, 22" Wide, 13.5" Deep

Provenance:
Acquired from reputable auction house Austin Auction Gallery (AAG), Austin, Texas

Additional information:
In addition to Francois Linke croquet table, index number 544, this table à ouvrage has a similar but not identical footprint to Linke’s ‘Petit Bureau Louis XV,' index number 552.

In 2003 a similar table, later sold at Sotheby’s New York, A Private Collection, 26th October 2006, lot 178.

The top (and inside of the lid in index 542, 544) are a tour de force of marquetry, the majority by either Fauchon or Béranger, both of whom supplied much of the marquetry for Linke in the 1900-1920 period. Small tables of this type were the staple diet of Linke’s production, Linke commenting at the 1900 Paris exhibition that he had sold many small tables. The model was so popular, that between 1900 and 1939, Linke may have made as many as twenty-one examples; however at least one, made in 1907, omitted one of the table's most endearing features, the swan marquetry on the inside of the lid.

Literature
Art et Curiosité, October 1904, illustrated p. 162
Payne, Christopher: François Linke, 1855-1946, the Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collector's Club, pp. 135, 138, 378-379, 382 and 378; illustrated pls. 148, 422-425
Payne, Christopher: Paris, La quintessence du meuble au XIXe siècle, Éditions Monelle Hayot, 2018, illustrated p. 445

François Linke was born in 1855 in the village of Pankraz in Bohemia. Born into a large but poor family, Linke as a young man became an apprentice to a local furniture maker. In 1875 he travelled to Paris, the centre of the luxury furniture trade and it is believed he found employment in the workshop of Joseph-Emmanuel Zweiner, but by 1881 had opened his own workshop. At first supplying more established makers such as Jansen and Krieger.

Clearly ambitious, Linke staked everything on a stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Knowing that the organisers wanted a world class exhibition to coincide with the Olympics, he invested heavily in a range of furniture that would have bankrupted him if left unsold. The show was a great success and his Grand Bureau, a magnificent tour-de-force, took the gold medal and made him important contacts and clients including the Kings of Sweden and Belgium, Anna May Gould, the American heiress, and Emile Loubet, the President of France. The exhibition left him the financial freedom to enable him to exhibit at the Salon des Industries du Mobilier in 1902, the World Fair at St. Louis in 1904 and the Franco-British exhibition in London in 1908. Already known as a cabinetmaker of fine quality work, the Paris Exposition cemented Linke’s place at the top of the tree, and his name became synonymous with the best French furniture over the next forty years.

*Additional photos available at request*

Condition:
A superb example. This table is in excellent condition, with light, nicely aged patina over the whole. Structurally perfect. It presents splendidly, warm, rich, luminous sheen. As an antique, it may have very minor age appropriate wear, consistent with age and indicative of minimal use.

Delivered cleaned, hand waxed, polished French patina finish, ready for generational enjoyment. less