Footnotes

• François Linke (1855-1946) was one of the most celebrated cabinetmakers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Austria, but moved to Paris where he established his business circa 1881-1882. His reputation was made at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 where, in collaboration with sculptor Léon Messagé, he created a sensation by incorporating elements of the Art Nouveau style then in vogue with traditional eighteenth-century furniture forms. Linke was awarded a gold medal, and his success enabled him to acquire wealthy patrons from across the world. He was so greatly admired in France that he was awarded the "Croix de la Légion d'Honneur," France's highest honor for civilians, in 1906.
  
  The present desk is directly inspired by a model by Jacques-Philippe Carel (maître 1723, active 1724-50) from circa 1730, formerly in the Bensimon collection (illustrated in Alexandre Pradere, French Furniture Makers, 1989, p. 140, ill. no. 107). However, certain bronze mounts are creations of André -Charles Boulle (1642-1732) For example, the side mounts are direct copies of the "laughing head of Democritus" mount created by Boulle, and seen on a bureau plat in the J. Paul Getty Museum (85.DA.23), and the armorial keyhole escutcheon on the central front drawer, also used by Carel, is present on a bureau plat attributed to the workshop of Boulle fils (Getty Museum, 55.DA.3).
  
  Literature:
  Gillian Wilson, French Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, Baroque and Régence, Catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection, 2008, pp. 138 and 157

---

Category: Furniture / European Furniture and Works of Art

---

Auction terms and conditions