Louis XVI Low Cabinet – Signed François Linke (1855 – 1946)

Low cabinet in Louis XVI – Napoleon III style – in cube marquetry, in rosewood and rosewood veneer, Opening with a door revealing three shelves with a base in mahogany and oak On the top secret drawer with a system knob, Rich ornamentation in finely chiseled and gilded bronze with a garland of flowers, Louis XVI knot, floral basket, quiver, crown, small flowers, various friezes in the frames, bronze scraps, etc. .... Rounded upright, resting on fluted spinning top feet with foliage rings, Topped with a peach blossom marble, Signed "F Linke" on a bronze scrap to the right of the door, François LINKE (1855-1946) biography: François Linke, born in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) in 1855, began as a cabinetmaker around 1882 and worked in Paris until his death in 1946, in the faubourg Saint-Antoine. Around 1900, at the height of his career, he even added a branch on Place Vendôme. He specialized in the manufacture of Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture, ambitious both in terms of its dimensions and its sumptuous bronze ornamentation, which earned him numerous commissions from the end of the 19th century. Wishing to go beyond 18th-century style copies, Linke collaborated with the already famous sculptor Léon Messagé and incorporated the sinuous lines heralding Art Nouveau, thus developing a very personal style. One of his greatest successes was at the 1900 Universal Exhibition, where the jury awarded him the gold medal for his desk, designed by Messagé, in kingwood, mounted with Louis XV-style bronzes. The "Revue artistique et industrielle" glorified Linke by writing that his stand at the Exhibition was the largest demonstration ever made in the history of art furniture.