Office By François Linke

LINKE François (1855 -1946) Office table in veneer of rosewood and violet wood opening to a drawer in belt. Ornamentation of gilded bronzes and finely chiselled, characteristics of the great cabinetmaker. The scalloped tray with gilded bronze mold presents a diamond marquetry. Buffered in our workshop. Signed on the lock and inside a bronze. Around 1880. Height 73 cm, width 75 cm, depth 46 cm. Similar model reproduced on page 490, shot 278, in "François LINKE, the Belle Epoque of French Furniture" by Christopher Payne. François LINKE (1855-1946) was undoubtedly the most important cabinetmaker of his time. Apprentice to his hometown of Pankraz in Bohemia, Linke arrived in Paris in 1875 and founded his own studio in 1881 at 170 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, later creating a branch at 26 place Vendôme. Linke's international reputation was already well established when the 1900 World's Fair was held in Paris, his talent and creativity remaining unparalleled: the Exposition crowned his success and strengthened the financial stability of his company, allowing him to conquer new markets abroad. Like his contemporaries such as Beurdeley and Dasson, his production included copies and pastiches inspired by the successive styles of the eighteenth century or the most famous royal furniture, but was also illustrated in the design of exuberant works, mixing Louis XV style and Art Nouveau. Linke collaborated with a famous sculptor, Leon Messagé. In 1904 he became an Officer of Public Instruction, and participated in the Exposition of St. Louis in the United States. In 1905, he was appointed juror of the Liège Exhibition and, on October 11, 1906, received the Legion of Honor.