François Linke (1855-1946). Bonheur Du Jour In Kidney Shape In Mahogany And Mahogany Veneer

François LINKE (1855-1946). Bonheur du jour in the shape of a kidney in mahogany and mahogany veneer, marquetry of fillets. It opens with three drawers in the belt, resting on four curved feet. The dark top of a gilded leather with small irons, is surmounted by a step with a curved front housing a compartment and five drawers, surmounted by a clock with a white enamel dial, signed "F. Linke". (Small accident to the enamel). Two two-light candelabra rest on the bottom of the step. Ornamentation in chiseled and gilded bronze with foliated corner falls, foliated ribbon knots, draw hands and lock entries. (Missing two draw hands). Louis XV style. Signed. Width: 110 cm - Depth: 59 cm - Height: 114 cm. rovenance: Private collection of Mr. Juan Higinio Aztoreca (1840-1903), by descent. Formerly kept in his mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Industrialist and entrepreneur of Spanish origin, Juan Higinio Aztoreca made his fortune in the exploitation of salt and sodium nitrate. He settled in Paris at the very beginning of the 20th century, in a mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine, which he had entirely decorated and furnished in particular with furniture from the workshop of François Linke, a cabinetmaker in vogue since the Universal Exhibition of 1900. On his death, the mansion was sold but the furniture remained in the family. For a similar model: - Christopher Payne. François Linke 1855-1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture. Illustration before the title page. Perhaps the finest cabinetmaker and bronze-worker of the late 19th century, François Linke produced, in collaboration with the sculptor Léon Messagé, furniture of the highest quality in his workshop at 170, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, and later around 1902 he had a showroom at 26, Place Vendôme. In addition to furniture made in an original rocaille style mounted on gilded bronze, Linke also made copies of furniture in the styles of the Ancien Régime of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Although he established his workshop in 1881, Linke first came to prominence at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, at which he was awarded a gold medal. He became the most sought-after cabinetmaker of the early 20th century, producing period furniture and exhibiting at many international exhibitions, including Saint-Louis (1904), Liège (1905) and London (1908). Linke died in 1946, by which time the style with which he had made his name was no longer fashionable, but the workshops continued on a much reduced scale for a time.