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Established 1964
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Detail from a Rare Gilt-Bronze Mounted Rosewood and Kingwood Parquetry Inlaid Side Cabinet by Franรงois Linke, pages 150-151. Details from a Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood and Tulipwood Bureau Plat by Franรงois Linke, pages 112-113. ENDPAPERS: An Important and Large Pair of Egyptian Figural Multipatinated Bronzes, by Emile-Louis Picault, French, Circa 1880. Height: 83 cm / 33 in. FRONT COVER: BACK COVER:
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LATEST ACQUISITIONS Catalogue VII
66-67 South Audley Street London England W1K 2QX Tel: + 44 (0)207 495 2324 Fax: + 44 (0)207 495 0204 Email: enquiries@adrianalan.com Website: www.adrianalan.com
All items in this catalogue are for sale subject to availability and to our standard Terms & Conditions of Sale
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CATALOGUE VII
It is with enormous pleasure that we bring you this, our latest catalogue, featuring a selection of some of the finest examples of nineteenth century furniture and works of art currently available on the market. We take great pride in this collection, as the acquisition of highly important items continues to be our greatest challenge, in a market where such top level pieces are becoming rarer and rarer. It is wonderful to be able to enjoy and participate in the increased academic appreciation of the great craftsmen of the nineteenth century. Any study of the nineteenth century World Fairs, or Great Exhibitions, will show the enormous competition and rivalry that existed between nations, which encouraged artists and craftsmen to produce work of the highest creativity and calibre to surpass that of their predecessors. The studies by Christopher Payne, Jonathan Meyer and Camille Mestdagh in particular, have shown a true appreciation of the skills employed during this period, and undoubtedly have had a role to play in keeping interest and prices high. We lend our support wherever possible to such studies, and earlier this year welcomed a delegation from the furniture department of the Victoria and Albert Museum to our Gallery, to study ‘Le Grand Bureau’ as featured on pages 122-127. Even with their great experience and wealth of knowledge they were awe-struck by the complexity of its design and construction. Undoubtedly the most important piece of nineteenth century furniture on the market today, we are incredibly proud to be able to include it in this collection. We hope that you enjoy this catalogue, and that you find something special for your own collection. In addition please visit our website www.adrianalan.com which provides an opportunity to view a much more comprehensive range of our ever-changing stock throughout the year.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Alan
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A Palatial and Important Pair of Famille Rose Porcelain and Cut Crystal Twenty-One Light Gilt-Bronze Candelabra on Exceptional Régence Style Carved Giltwood Bases
Total Height 306 cm / 121 in.
The vases are Chinese, mounted in France with gilt-bronze mounts, circa 1880. The pedestal bases are French, circa 1880.
Width of Bases 84 cm / 33 in. Depth of Bases 84 cm / 33 in. Width of Candelabra 91 cm / 36 in. Ref: B65700
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Famille rose porcelain was introduced in China during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, possibly around 1720, to fulfil the export demand for brighter and more colourful decoration in Europe. Much of the decoration was undertaken in the studios of Canton during the succeeding Yongzheng reign (1723–1735), replacing the famille verte of the Kangxi reign and becoming the dominant palette in overglaze decoration. Softer and gentler in appearance than famille verte and fired at a lower temperature, Famille rose also became known in Chinese as ‘soft colours’. Characterised by soft shades of pink, famille
rose allowed a greater range of colour and tone than was previously possible, enabling the depiction of more complex images including flowers, figures and insects. It was made by drawing a sketch on the shaped clay, which was then covered with bo li bai, an opaque white enamel, and painted in detail with a mixture of pigment and oil before firing. The rose enamel colour was achieved by the addition of gold oxide. Vases of palatial size, such as the current pair, would have been extremely difficult to fire and extremely costly to produce. The palette remained popular in Europe throughout the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Imported and commissioned by European merchants, such as the famous Parisian marchand-merciers, and adorned with exceptional gilt-bronze mounts and cut-crystal candelabra, these would have been items of haute-luxe available only to the wealthiest connoisseurs.
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An Important and Very Fine Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze Mounted Cut Brass Pewter and Ebonised Boulle Marquetry Armoire after the Model by André-Charles Boulle
Height 269 cm /106 in.
The finely cast door locks bear the stamp ‘ST’. French, circa 1880.
Width 172 cm / 68 in.
Similar initials to those displayed on this armoire can be seen on the door furniture at Waddesdon Manor, though the identity of the maker remains unknown. In the eighteenth century, the mark ‘ST’ was used by the lock manufacturer Bricard who had acquired the stock of the lock retailer Sterlin in the 1760s. This armoire is based on the pair of armoires made by André-Charles Boulle that now reside in the Louvre, Paris. Boulle’s pair was seized during the Revolution from the home of an officer emigré, François Goguelat (1746–1843), a confident of Louis XVI. The armoires were subsequently assigned to the Château de SaintCloud where they were in use until 1806 and then moved to Fontainebleau. There they remained
Depth 55 cm / 22 in. Ref: B65751
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until 1831, housed in Napoleon’s cabinet topographie, which at the time of the restoration became the Duc d’ Angoulême’s dining room. André-Charles Boulle (d.1732) was appointed Ébéniste, Ciseleur, Doreur et Sculpteur du Roi in 1672 and is amongst the greatest ébénistes of all time. His fame was such that his name has become synonymous with a whole generic furniture type. Boulle style furniture held its popularity and prestige throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Rothschilds, the Marquess of Hertford and Henry Clay Frick were amongst the wealthy individuals who commissioned Boulle inspired pieces from important makers such as Sormani, Zwiener, Beurdeley and Blake. Many of these nineteenth-century pieces took their places comfortably alongside their predecessors from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in great houses such as the Rothschild family home Mentmore.
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A Very Fine and Large Carved Giltwood Rococo Mirror after Thomas Johnson
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An Exceptional Pair of Gilt-Bronze FourLight Figural Wall Appliqués depicting Flora and Zephyr by Henry Dasson and Cie
Height 237cm / 93 in.
English, circa 1820.
Height 80 cm / 32 in.
Signed and dated ‘henry Dasson et Cie. 1889’. French, dated 1889.
Width 34 cm / 13 in.
These unusual appliqués are an adaption of a model that Dasson exhibited to widespread acclaim at the Paris Exposition des Beaux Arts of 1880. For a biography of Henry Dasson see Appendix A.
Width 124 cm / 49 in. Ref: B51000
A notable feature of Johnson’s designs was the inclusion of carved animal figures, often based on Francis Barlow’s illustrations of Aesop’s Fables, first published in 1687.
Depth 28 cm / 11 in. Ref: B65632
Literature: Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur, 2010, p. 159, fig. 179.
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Dappled Mahogany Ladies Dressing Chest or Table en Chiffonière after the Model by Adam Weisweiler
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A Fine Pair of Louis XVI Style Giltbronze and Vert d´Eau Enamelled Ten-Light Torchère Candelabra
Height 91 cm / 36 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 230 cm / 91 in.
French, circa 1880.
e
Width 61 cm / 24 in. Depth 49 cm / 19 in. Ref: B65801
This unusual Table en Chiffonière has a hinged top opening to reveal a shallow well. The original model of this work table by Adam Weisweiler is now in the Wallace Collection, London. It was most likely supplied by the marchandmercier Dominique Daguerre, with the gilt-bronze frieze being undertaken by François Rémond. Literature: Hughes, Peter, The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Furniture, Vol. II Trustees of the Wallace Collection (London), 1996, pp. 1108–14, F.328.
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Width 56 cm / 22 in.
The bronze variously numbered to the reverse ‘2445’. Provenance: Hermes Villa, Vienna.
Depth 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B65840
The Hermes Villa was commissioned by the Viennese Emperor Franz Joseph as a retreat for the Empress Elisabeth. Built between 1882 and 1886, it was considered one of the most outstanding examples of villa architecture of the late romantic period.
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ANGIOLO BARBETTI
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An Important Florentine Renaissance Revival Pietre Dure and Carved Giltwood Centre Table by Angiolo Barbetti
Height 96 cm / 38 in.
Stamped ‘Barbetti Firenze’. Florence, circa 1870.
Width 125 cm / 49 in.
The rectangular black-marble top that sits on Barbetti’s spectacular carved base has an outer edge of lapis lazuli, inset with a pietre-dure still life. The still life composition rests on a limestone slab, which appears to float against the black marble ground and is framed by
Depth 67 cm / 26 in. Ref: B68640
naturalistic spandrels of flowers and fruit. A table with a comparative still life scene, on a black marble field laid on an alabaster slab, is in the collection of The Los Angeles County Museum, and illustrated by Anna Maria Massinelli in her book Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection. For a biography of Angiolo Barbetti see Appendix A. Literature: Massinelli, Anna Maria, Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection, Philip Wilson Publishers (London), 2000, p.109 for a comparative tabletop.
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A Monumental Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze and Cut Glass Forty-Eight Light Chandelier
Height 252 cm / 99 in.
The frame is variously stamped with numbers and ‘JL’. French, circa 1885.
Diameter 160 cm / 63 in. Ref: B62152
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This rare and exceptional chandelier has a
central cut-glass baluster stem, surrounded by an undulating cage frame from which two tiers of acanthus cast scrolling arms extend. The chandelier is hung overall with extremely large, shaped prisms and flower head drops, and terminates in a fabulous pear-shaped glass finial.
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HOLLAND & SONS
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A Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany and Marquetry-Inlaid Side Cabinet attributed to Holland & Sons
Height 95 cm / 37 in.
London, circa 1860.
Width 102 cm / 40 in. Depth 41 cm / 16 in. Ref: B65017
The exquisite marquetry panel on the door is inspired by the work of the eighteenth-century royal cabinetmaker, Jean-François Oeben. During the reign of Napoleon III this form of cabinet was once again the height of fashion and was made with numerous variations in the detailing of the mounts, marquetry and apron. A similar cabinet appears in François Linke’s
pocketbook (Daybook 2, register number 57) dating to c.1884, and is referred to by Christopher Payne in his book, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture. Linke made furniture in Paris for several of the major London houses, such as Hamptons of Pall Mall, Maples, Edwards & Roberts as well as Holland & Sons. Literature: Roberts, H, For the King’s Pleasure, The Royal Collection (London), 2001, pls. 279 and 339. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, p. 52.
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A Rare and Exceptionally Fine Quality Matched Pair of Austrian Exhibition Porcelain Vases and Covers
Height 125 cm / 49 in.
Austrian, circa 1870.
Diameter 35 cm / 14 in. Ref: B46330
Each vase is painted with a continuous scene depicting a period gathering, all richly embellished with the finest gilding. Vases of this quality and size were extremely expensive and time consuming to produce. It is most likely that this pair were made to show at one of the nineteenth-century exhibitions.
Details of painting to the reverse of the vases.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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A Very Fine Pair of Louis XV Style GiltBronze Mounted Kingwood Vitrines by François Linke
Height 166 cm / 65 in.
One vitrine signed ‘F. Linke’ on the front right mount. The gilt-bronze mounts stamped ‘FL’ to the reverse. The lock plates stamped ‘CT Linke’. French, circa 1890.
Width 83 cm / 33 in. Depth 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B65940
This rare pair of vitrines are embellished with exceptionally fine gilt-bronze mounts. The mounts extend over the glazed areas of the vitrine, which was a particular speciality of Linke and extremely difficult to execute. Many
of his most important exhibition designs incorporate this feature, the best known being Linke’s chef-d’oeuvre, the astounding Grande Bibliothèque much praised at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Another notable feature of Linke’s work is his use of a concave scallop shell or coquille. Delicate tendrils of acanthus hold the shell implying the shape of a crab quietly moving on to the glass surface. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
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A Large and Impressive Baroque Style Carved Giltwood Mirror
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A Rare Anglo-Chinese Ebonised and Inlaid SecrĂŠtaire Campaign Chest
Height 252 cm / 99 in.
Italian, circa 1870.
Height 105 cm / 41 in.
Anglo-Chinese, circa 1830.
Width 174 cm / 69 in. Ref: B65252
The mirror with a crest featuring a crown and a moon crescented cartouche, flanked by stylised beasts.
Width 100 cm / 39 in. Depth 52 cm / 20 in.
The secrĂŠtaire drawer opening to reveal a leather writing slide and a fitted interior of small drawers and pigeonholes inscribed with Chinese characters.
Ref: B68453
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ALFRED-EMMANUEL-LOUIS BEURDELEY
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An Exceptional Quality Pair of Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze and Enamel Four- Light Candelabra by Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley after the Model by Pierre Gouthière
Height 91 cm / 36 in.
Stamped ‘BY’ for Beurdeley. French, circa 1870.
Width 42 cm / 17 in.
This fine pair of candelabra is based on the model by Pierre Gouthière now conserved in the Petit Trianon at Versailles. According to Pierre Verlet, the model corresponds to a large pair of candelabra with, ‘ten branches, drapery, foliage and fruit, richly carved and gilded in bronze’, originally supplied, for the Salon du Jeu de Mesdames at the Château de Bellevue. Pierre Gouthière (1732–1813) was the most celebrated bronze gilder in France during the eighteenth century, the esteemed title of ‘Gilder to the King’ being given to him by Louis XV. For a biography of Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley see Appendix A.
Depth 36 cm / 14 in. Ref: B65261
Literature: Ottomeyer, Hans and Peter Proschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, die Bronzearbeiten des Spatbarock und Klassizismus, Klinkhardt & Biermann (Munich), 1986, p. 261, f. 4.8.4. Verlet, Pierre, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Picard (Paris), 1987, p. 99, plate 11.
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MORANT & SON
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A Fine and Decorative Italian Giltwood Mirror Carved With Allegorical Figures of The Continents and The Seasons
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An Important Satinwood Marquetry and Giltwood Centre Table attributed to Morant & Son
Height 195 cm / 77 in.
Italian, circa 1860.
Height 75 cm / 30 in.
English, circa 1850.
Width 111 cm/ 44 in.
Diameter 131 cm / 52 in.
Ref: B66141
Ref: B68321
For a biography of Morant & Son see Appendix A.
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BENEDETTO BOSCHETTI
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An Exceptional Monumental Neoclassical Style Marmo Rosso Urn by Boschetti after the ‘Warwick’ Model
Height 59 cm / 23 in.
Signed ‘B. Boschetti Roma’. Italian, circa 1820.
Width 83 cm / 33 in.
This incredible and technically complex marmo rosso model of the Warwick Vase, is over 60 centimetres high but unusually carved from just a single block of marble on a scale rarely found, and created with unrivalled intricacy. The only other known marble reduction of the Warwick Vase by this artist, now resides in the collection of the Toledo Museum, Ohio – for many years it was believed the Toledo vase was the only example carved on this scale by Boschetti. The vase is modelled after the antique vase found at the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s villa (Villa Adriana) in 1770 and subsequently in the collection of the Earl of Warwick. Perhaps the most famous object of antiquity on display in the nineteenth century, its fame became universal, not just in Britain, but across Europe, with even the Emperor Napoleon coveting it: ‘Had the Emperor Bonaparte been successful in conquering England…the first note in his pocket-book was to possess himself of the marble vase at Warwick’ (Baron Denon). The vase found in 1770 was in fragments and was reconstructed by Sir William Hamilton at great expense. The credit for the reconstruction of the vase is usually given to the celebrated architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi. The likelihood, however, is that it was a
Depth 63 cm / 25 in. Ref: B50967
collaborative process involving the antiquities dealer James Byres and the sculptor Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. Around the circumference of the vase are carved heads representing satyrs, except for one, which is of a female, traditionally said to be a substitute for a missing head never recovered from Lake Tivoli. Piranesi designed the female mask after one of his own designs for a pair of candelabra. A legend has grown up that this mask was carved in the likeness of Lady Hamilton and that as a result of a quarrel with the carver, the female mask was given a fawn’s ear. After the restoration was completed George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, purchased the vase and displayed it at Warwick Castle. Because of its popularity the Earl banned fullscale reproductions of the vase in 1813, and only four full-size examples were ever made. The vase, however, had already come to embody the ideal of classical art, and Piranesi’s etchings were employed to make smaller reductions. Very few reductions were however of the quality and scale of the present example by Boschetti. This reduction of the Warwick Vase, uniquely captures the cultural importance of The Grand Tour and the obsession of the period with antiquity and classical sources, all revealed in the incredible skill and ambition of the marble carvers’ art. For a biography of Boschetti see Appendix A. Literature: A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Tempo del Gusto, Milan, 1986, p. 120 and fig. 5–7.
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FOURNIER
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An Impressive and Highly Important Pair of Empire Style Mahogany Side Cabinets one with an Integral Clock and the other with a Barometer by Fournier
Height 210 cm / 83 inches
Stamped ‘FOURNIER’ on the back of the lock plate. French, Circa 1880.
Width 87 cm / 34 inches Depth 39 cm / 15 inches Ref: B67411
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Each cabinet has an arched pediment, surmounted by a bronze bust of Napoleon after
the model by the French sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet (1763–1810). The centre of the pediment of one cabinet is fitted with a clock, with an eight-day striking movement. The other cabinet is fitted with an aneroid barometer. An exceptional gilt and patinated-bronze roundel, depicting the signs of the zodiac, frames each enamel dial. For a biography of Fournier see Appendix A.
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A Rare and Monumental Set of Four Highly Important Bronze Torchères
Height 315 cm / 124 in.
Paris, circa 1870.
Width 110 cm / 43 in. Depth 97 cm / 38 in Ref: B56970/1
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Originally made for gas, the torchères have now been wired for electricity. These exceptional torchères are typical of the high-quality work produced in Paris during the second half of the nineteenth century. The form of the scrolled arms corresponds closely to a lamp shown at the 1851 Exhibition in London by the Paris firm of Gagneau Frères. The evident quality and exceptional size of
these torchères would suggest a distinguished provenance. It is reputed that they came from the Rothschild collection and were formerly in Château de Ferrières. This is further supported by the fact that they bear a very close similarity to the set of four lamps shown in a watercolour by Eugene Lami of the stairway at the Château. The Château de Ferrières was built in the nineteenth century for James de Rothschild by the English architect Joseph Paxton. This magnificent residence was a testament to the wealth and power of the Rothschild family.
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20 Height 59 cm / 23 in. Width 33 cm / 13 in. Depth 29 cm / 11 in. Ref: B65841
A Very Fine Gilt-Bronze Mounted Ebonised Viennese Enamel Casket Decorated with Scenes from Classical Mythology Vienna, circa 1890. The base of this cabinet has a central drawer to the front and is inset with fine enamel cartouches on either side. The central section of the cabinet has two doors, both inset with enamel porcelain plaques, depicting scenes from classical
mythology including Helen of Troy and Mercury. The sides and the back of the cabinet are similarly embellished with porcelain plaques, the large plaque to the back of the cabinet depicting the Sacrifice of Iphigenia by Agamemnon. Each Viennese porcelain plaque is intricately painted and of the very highest quality. The interior of the cabinet opens to reveal five fitted drawers, each drawer front featuring porcelain plaques enamelled with arabesque decoration.
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HANCOCK & CO
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Blue John Guéridon in the Manner of Adam Weisweiler
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Height 75 cm / 30 in.
French, circa 1880.
Height 140 cm / 55 in.
Diameter 53 cm / 21 in. Ref: B65257
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Although unsigned, the high quality of the bronze casting on this gueridon would suggest a very accomplished maker, such as Maison Millet or Paul Sormani.
Diameter 108 cm / 43 in. Ref: B66090
A Regency Six-Light Gilt-Bronze Chandelier by Hancock & Co The burners are labelled ‘HANCOCK & CO./ COCKSPUR ST/ LONDON/ MANUFACTURER’, and the links are stamped ‘OWB’. English, circa 1830. For a biography of Hancock & Co see Appendix A.
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JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER
LALIQUE
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A Very Fine Louis XVI Style GiltBronze Mounted Kingwood Vitrine with Wedgwood Style Jasperware Plaques by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener
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A Fine Gilt-Bronze Mounted CutCrystal Liqueur Set with Moulded Glass Caryatids by Lalique Paris
Height 163 cm / 64 in. Width 99 cm / 39 in. Depth 39 cm / 15 in.
Stamped ‘NZ.309’ and ‘ZJ’ on the reverse of the bronze. French, circa 1880.
Height 32 cm / 13 in. Width 38 cm / 15 in. Depth 28 cm / 11 in.
French, circa 1900.
Ref: B68690
For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see Appendix A.
For a biography of Lalique see Appendix A.
Ref: B66802
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PAUL SORMANI
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A Very Fine Pair of Louis XVI Style Marquetry and Gilt-Bronze Mounted Pedestals after the Model by Martin Carlin
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A Fine Pair of Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Side Cabinets by Paul Sormani
Height 148 cm / 58 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 95 cm / 37 in.
Stamped ‘PS’ for Paul Sormani to the reverse of the bronze mounts. One cabinet further stamped ‘SORMANI’. The locks stamped ‘CL’. Paris, circa 1870.
Width 52 cm / 20 in. Depth 33 cm / 13 in. Ref: B67820
The design for this pair of pedestals is based on the pair of pedestals by the eighteenth-century ébéniste Martin Carlin that now reside in the Musée du Louvre.
Width 77 cm / 30 in. Depth 34 cm / 13 in.
For a biography of Paul Sormani see Appendix A.
Ref: B68541
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An Exceptional Pair of George III Style Giltwood Mirrors in the Rococo Manner of Thomas Chippendale
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A Large and Impressive Neoclassical Style Gilt-Bronze and Cut Glass TwelveLight Palatial Tent and Bag Chandelier
Height 165 cm / 65 in.
English, circa 1880.
Height 160 cm / 63 in.
French, circa 1880.
Width 101 cm / 40 in. Ref: B65770
The design for this pair of mirrors is derived from plate CLXXVIII in the third edition of The Gentleman & Cabinet Maker’s Directory by Thomas Chippendale. Literature: Chippendale, Thomas, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Directory, a reprint of the third edition, Dover Publications (New York), 1966, pl. CLXXVIII.
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Diameter 91 cm / 36 in. Ref: B65260
The exceptional quality gilt-bronze unusually features rock roses and fruit, as garlands and displays on the candle holders, as well as floral and fruited cast nozzles.
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Linke Archive / C. Payne
FRANÇOIS LINKE
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A Rare and Important Louis XVI Style Giltwood Salon Suite Comprising Four Fauteuils and a Canapé by François Linke
Canapé Height 117 cm / 46 in. Width 192 cm / 75 in. Depth 95 cm / 37in.
Stamped in the frames ‘F. LINKE’. French, circa 1880.
Chairs Height 107 cm / 42 in. Width 75 cm / 30 in. Depth 80 cm / 31 in. Ref: B67650
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The chairs and canapé have cresting rails each finely carved with central wreaths and trophies. The suite is upholstered in fine Aubusson tapestry with foliate sprays and cartouche borders. Giltwood furniture by Linke is not only rare, but can be difficult to identify, as it tends to be unmarked. It is therefore an unusual sign of quality that Linke decided to stamp this suite with his name.
Linke also included this suite in an engraving of his Place Vêndome showroom used for publicity, which is a further representation of how highly he regarded it. The distinctive trophy-carved cresting and foliate Aubusson upholstery can clearly be seen in this engraving illustrated above. Linke also exhibited a fauteuil in this style at the Salon du Mobilier of 1911 (illustrated by Christopher Payne as plate 205). For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, pp. 160–61, pl 171–2 and p.190, pl. 205.
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A Very Fine Pair of Tall English Giltwood Mirrors
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A Fine Carved Giltwood Centre Table with a Pietre Dure Marble Top
Height 255 cm / 100 in.
English, circa 1880.
Height 84 cm / 33 in.
Italian, circa 1880.
Width 94 cm / 37 in. Depth 8 cm / 3 in.
These unusual mirrors have plates divided by an elegant glass rosette border and a frame surmounted by carved scrolling acanthus, centred by a cabochon shield.
Diameter 114 cm / 45 in.
The ornate top is finely inlaid with pietre dure, depicting a foliate garland and songbirds.
Ref: B68253
Ref: B66654
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An Exceptional Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood and Vernis Martin Three-Fold Screen
Height 180 cm / 71 in.
One panel signed ‘Crozet’. The gilt-bronze stamped to the reverse ‘JS’ and ‘JH’. French, circa 1890.
Width 165 cm / 65 in. Depth 5 cm / 2 in. Ref: B67872
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The screen is unusual in that the quality of the panels to the reverse is of the same high standard as the front. It is rare to see the use of such expensive vernis Martin panels on both sides of a screen. It is indicative of the high level to which this piece was produced, and at considerable expense.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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An Important Exhibition Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Table Vitrine by François Linke after a Model by Adam Weisweiler for Marie-Antionette
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Height 74 cm / 29 in.
Linke Index No. 114 Linke Title: Table Louis XVI à cariatides bronzes The lock plate stamped ‘FL’ and ‘FL 680’ stamped behind the figural mount. French, circa 1890.
Height 180 cm / 71 in.
Width 78 cm / 31 in. Depth 55 cm / 22 in. Ref: B68583
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Linke displayed this table vitrine at the front of his prize-winning exhibition stand at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
Width 107 cm / 42 in. Depth 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B67390
A Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany and Parquetry Bookcase by François Linke The reverse of the lock plate stamped ‘CT. LINKE/SERRURERIE/PARIS’. French, circa 1890. This fine bookcase has a pair of glazed grille doors opening to an interior with four adjustable shelves. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
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An Exceptional Louis XIV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Cut Brass and Tortoiseshell-Inlaid Ebony and Ebonised Boulle Bureau Mazarin after the Model by André-Charles Boulle
Height 77 cm / 30 in.
Stamped ‘VF Paris’ between crossed keys on the back of the lock. French, circa 1880.
Width 152 cm / 60 in. Depth 82 cm / 32 in. Ref: B65942
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This exceptional Bureau Mazarin is decorated in premieré partie Boulle work with intricate arabesques of scrolling foliage and strapwork, punctuated by exotic figures and grotesques. This desk form was named after Cardinal Mazarin, regent of France from 1642 to 1661. It is the earliest predecessor of the pedestal desk and is typically supported by eight legs united by ‘X’- or ‘H’-shaped cross stretchers. The Bureau Mazarin is most popularly associated with the Ébéniste du Roi, André-Charles Boulle
(d.1732) in whose eponymous technique the highest quality examples were produced. On this richly embellished desktop the Boulle inlay depicts grotto scenes of classical gods, with attendant monkeys taking the place of traditional fauns, centred by a classical grotesque depicting Jupiter seated holding a sceptre and carrying fire. Jupiter is flanked to the right by Venus and Cupid, and to the left by Mercury. The source for the intricate design can be found in the work of the seventeenth century French artists Jean Cotelle, Jean Le Pautre, Paul Androuet Du Cerceau, and most directly Jean Berain. André-Charles Boulle (d.1732) who was appointed Ébéniste, Ciseleur, Doreur et Sculpteur du Roi in 1672, is amongst the greatest ébénistes of all time.
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An Exceptional and Rare Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Sèvres Porcelain Vases, the Mounts Possibly by Christofle or Beauferey
Height 53 cm / 21 inches
The porcelain dated 1860. Each vase printed ‘S60’ within a lozenge in blue. French, dated 1860.
Diameter 31 cm / 12 inches Ref: B68532
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This pair of unusual vases is extremely rare as they are glazed with a process known as pâte changeante or pâte caméléon, a chromatic adaptation technique invented by the director of Sèvres, Henri-Victor Regnault, and first shown at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London. The glaze reacts to light by changing colour from greyish celadon in daylight to a pink or lilac in artificial light. The vases are based on an eighteenthcentury pair now in the collection of the Louvre. The original vases, made of Chinese celadon porcelain mounted with French giltbronze mounts, were commissioned by the Duc d’Aumont, from Pierre Gouthière in 1781. Sèvres began to manufacture their version of the vases in 1860, with different porcelain and modelling of the lion’s mask. The lion’s mask of
the nineteenth- century Sèvres version was a Western lion’s mask as opposed to the Chinese lion’s mask found on the eighteenth-century version. Given that these vases are dated 1860 they are amongst the first of this style produced by Sèvres. In 1866 Napoleon III ordered three pairs from Sèvres, the first two pairs in blue glaze were sent to the Elysée Palace and the third pair in bleu jaspé glaze were sent to the Compiègne Palace. Another pair was later ordered for the Grand Trianon. Sèvres produced the porcelain bodies, however, it was the marchand-bronziers who mounted and retailed the vases. In the case of those vases ordered by Napoleon III, the suppliers are listed as Christofle and Beauferey. For biographies of Sèvres and Christofle see Appendix A. Literature: The Art Journal Catalogue of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, Virtue & Co (London), 1867, p. 53. ‘Porcelaine et Terres de Sèvres’, Compiègne, Musée National du Château, éd. Musée Nationaux (Paris), 1993, p. 285 for an illustration and discussion on the 1866 vases at Compiègne.
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JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER
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An Important and Exceptionally Rare GiltBronze Mounted Empire Style Seven-Piece Mahogany Salon Suite by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener
Canapé Height 116 cm / 46 in. Width 176 cm / 69 in. Depth 70 cm / 28 in.
Stamped ‘Zwiener’ to the back of the seat rails. French, circa 1880. This fine salon suite comprises a canapé, four
fauteuils and two bergères, all with exceptionally finely cast and chiselled giltbronze sphinx supports above gilt- bronze mounted legs with paw feet. For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see Appendix A. Provenance: By succession Eugène Kucharski Marquis de La Madelena et de L’Ayre.
Bergères Height 108 cm / 43 in. Width 70 cm / 28 in. Depth 70 cm / 28 in. Fauteuils Height 108 cm / 43 in. Width 70 cm / 28 in. Depth 50 cm / 20 in. Ref: B69211
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MAISON MOTTHEAU & FILS
CHRISTIAN KRASS
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A Monumental Pair of Gilt-Bronze Figural Seven-Light Wall Appliqués attributed to Maison Mottheau & Fils
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A Fine Pair of Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Tables De Salon with Fleur de Pêcher Marble Tops by Christian Krass
Height 168 cm / 66 in.
French, circa 1900.
Height 77 cm / 30 in.
The underside of one table bears a branded stamp ‘Christian Krass, Lyon’. Both tables are stamped ‘K’ on the reverse of the bronze mounts. Lyon, circa 1900.
Width 61 cm / 24 in. Depth 30 cm / 12 in. Ref: B67920
Given the scale and quality of this pair of appliqués, it is most likely that they were produced as an exhibition piece. Stylistically they can be dated to around 1900, so we can speculate that they were made for Mottheau’s acclaimed stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. For a biography of Maison Mottheau & Fils see Appendix A.
Diameter 85 cm / 33 in. Ref: B66031
For a biography of Christian Krass see Appendix A.
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PERRY & CO
40 An Exceptional and Large Pair of George III Style CutCrystal Twenty-Four Light Chandeliers by Perry & Co English, circa 1870. For a biography of Perry & Co See Appendix A. Provenance: Old Warden Park, Bedfordshire, England. Joseph Shuttleworth acquired the Old Warden Estate, Bedfordshire in 1872 and commissioned the architect Henry Clutton (1819–1913) to design the house. The London firm of Cubitts carried out the construction, and Gillows of Lancaster supplied the majority of the furnishings. Joseph Shuttleworth purchased the chandeliers for the new house Old Warden Park, from the firm of Burt EscarÊ and Perry & Co.
Height 220 cm / 87 in. Diameter 125 cm / 49 in. Ref: B68120
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JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER
MAISON KRIEGER
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An Exceptional Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood and Marquetry Armoire by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener
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A Fine Empire Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Guéridon with a Lapis Lazuli Top by Maison Krieger
Height 259 cm / 102 in.
The bronze mounts stamped to the reverse ‘ZN’. French, circa 1880.
Height 76 cm / 30 in.
Stamped ‘D&C’ for Damon & Colin (Krieger, Damon et Cie). Krieger Title: ‘Guéridon Rond Empire’. French, circa 1900.
Width 171 cm / 67 in. Depth 62 cm / 24 in.
For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see Appendix A.
Diameter 60 cm / 24 in. Ref: B68090
For a biography of Maison Krieger see Appendix A.
Ref: B68160
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A Magnificent Pair of Exhibition-Quality Sèvres Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Porcelain Vases and Covers with Painted Panels Depicting Classical Scenes from the Illiad
Height 136 cm / 54 in.
French, circa 1860.
Width 58 cm / 23 in. Depth 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B68170
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These vases depict two famous scenes from Homer’s epic poem the Illiad. The scenes are inscribed ‘Separation D’Achille Et Briseis’ and ‘Le Depart D’ Hector’ and signed ‘LEBER’.
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VALENTINO PANCIERA BESAREL
JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER
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A Monumental Venetian Carved Ebonised Mirror with Playful Putti Attributed to Valentino Panciera Besarel in the Manner of Andrea Brustolon
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A Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood and MarquetryInlaid Tea Table Attributed to Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener
Height 205 cm / 81 in.
Venice, circa 1870.
Height 73 cm / 28 in.
French, circa 1890.
Width 160 cm / 63 in.
For a biography of Valentino Panciera Besarel see Appendix A.
Width 81 cm / 32 in.
Depth 22 cm / 9 in.
Depth 76 cm / 30 in.
Ref: B67440
Ref: B69532
For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see Appendix A.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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An Exceptional and Highly Important Louis XV Style Astronomical Regulator Clock Attributed to François Linke after the Model by Passement and Caffieri for Louis XV
Height 228 cm / 90 in.
The bronze stamped ‘Vve Leloutre’ and ‘GF’ Linke Index No: 1459. French, circa 1900.
Width 76 cm / 30 in. Depth 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B68112
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This extraordinary gilt-bronze regulator has an armillary sphere adorned with stars, banded by an equatorial ring decorated with the signs of the zodiac, the months of the year and foliate garlands to the upper section. The gilt-bronze case is richly ornamented with scrolling acanthus, foliate forms and cartouches representing the four seasons. Linke first became interested in producing a model, based on Louis XV’s famous astronomical regulator, when a version was made for Lord Hertford at the end of the nineteenth century. Christopher Payne notes that Linke made two examples, the first undated except for a note that the widow Leloutre did some work on ‘La Boule’ in May 1900, and a second made between 1910 and 1912; both clocks were chased by Goujon and gilded by Picard (Christopher Payne, p. 210). In 1905 Linke bought a master pattern for the regulator from the bronze clock and watchmaker Dostal, who had himself purchased
the pattern from the second sale of Millet’s inventory in May of that year. Interestingly Christopher Payne notes that the original catalogue description in the Millet sale included an annotation: ‘Mod. Prov de Caffieri’, a contemporary belief was that this was the master pattern from the eighteenth century. This regulator is based upon the famous astronomical clock by Jacques and Philippe Caffieri, made for Louis XV in 1753, for the Château de Choisy and moved in 1754 to the Salon de la Pendule at Versailles. The movement, the result of twelve years collaboration between the engineer Passement and the clock maker Dauthiau, was of such complexity that the regulator indicated not only mean and solar time, information about the sun and moon and orbital position of the planets, but was also programmed to function until 9999, and to include adjustments for leap years. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
Literature: Ottomeyer, Hans, and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol. I, Klinkhardt & Biermann (Munich), 1986, p. 133. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, p. 207, pl. 225; p. 210; p. 365 pl. 405.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
HONORÉ PLÉ
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Mahogany and Parquetry Centre Table with Gilt-Bronze Mounts attributed to François Linke
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A Large and Important MultiPatinated Bronze Figure of an Arab Warrior by Henri Honoré Plé
Height 76 cm / 30 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 140 cm / 55 in.
Signed ‘Henri Plé’ to the base. French, circa 1880.
Width 112 cm / 44 in. Depth 67 cm / 26 in. Ref: B68220
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For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
Width 55 cm / 22 in. Depth 50 cm / 20 in. Ref: B68171
For a biography of Henri Honoré Plé see Appendix A.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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A Unique Monumental Louis XVI Style Giltwood Centre Table with a Brèche Violette Marble Top by François Linke
Height 88 cm / 35 in.
Linke Index No. 2575. French, circa 1914.
Width 253 cm / 100 in.
Giltwood furniture by Linke is not only rare, but can be difficult to identify, as it tends to be unmarked. However, this table can be confidently attributed to Linke as an early black and white photograph of the piece (Linke Index No. 2575 - seen below), survives in the Linke Archive (see Christopher Payne: François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture p. 428, pl. 501). The only one of its kind known to have been produced, it was carved for Linke in May 1914
Depth 145 cm / 57 in. Ref: B66500
by the outworker Derivry. It formed part of the important commission of furniture ordered by the Italian born Argentinean banker Antonio Devoto. A wealthy and prolific patron, Devoto had hoped to establish his own private museum of furniture made exclusively by Linke in his Buenos Aires home, sadly he died before the project could be completed. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Provenance: Antonio Devoto Private Collection, Argentina. Collection of Mrs. Barbara Woodard Lips, San Antonio, Texas. Mayo Foundation. Hendershott Collection.
Linke Archive / C. Payne
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COMPAGNIE DES CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT
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A Very Important Large Exhibition Quality Figural Gilt-Bronze and Cut-Glass Chandelier by La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat
Height 190 cm / 75 in.
French, circa 1890.
Diameter 140 cm / 55 in. Ref: B68770
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This exceptional exhibition quality chandelier features wonderful gilt-bronze climbing cherubs, and an exquisite cut and etched glass bowl that is further surrounded by five expressive, gilt-bronze, ascending winged cherubs. Each of these cherubs holds aloft a sixlight candelabra embellished with cut-crystal chains and pendant drops. This form of the cherubs holding aloft the six-light candelabra, and the blue cut crystal of the chandelier, draw direct comparison to a pair
of jardinières featuring cobalt-blue glass and cherubs, exhibited by Baccarat at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, further confirming the importance of this chandelier as a spectacular exhibition piece. The cherubs on the chandelier are exceptionally finely cast and chiselled with incredible modelling and exquisite detail, to a level more normally associated with the finest sculpture. A chandelier of very similar design, also by Baccarat, hangs in the Grand Salon of the Casino at Monte Carlo. Literature: Curtis, Jean-Louis, Baccarat, Thames and Hudson (London), 1992, pp. 88–90.
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
HENRI PICARD
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A Very Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Mahogany Vitrine by François Linke
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An Exceptional Pair of Napoleon III Gilt Bronze Six-Light Figural Candelabra by Henri Picard
Height 230 cm / 91 in.
The reverse of the lock plate inscribed ‘CT. LINKE/SERREURERIE/PARIS’. French, circa 1880.
Height 104 cm / 41 in.
Signed ‘H. PICARD’, one numbered ‘3217’ and incised ‘DEFREVILLE’. French, circa 1860.
For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
Depth 38 cm / 15 in.
Width 130 cm / 51 in. Depth 45 cm / 18 in. Ref: B67860
Width 49 cm / 19 in.
For a biography of Henri Picard see Appendix A.
Ref: B66202
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E GUILLAUME-EDMOND LEXCELLENT
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany and Ebony Exhibition Commode à Vantaux by E Guillaume-Edmond Lexcellent, after the Model by Adam Weisweiler
Height 95 cm / 37 in.
Stamped ‘LEXCELLENT / PARIS’. The lock signed ‘Lexcellent Fabt Paris’ and ‘B.Theau Serrurier Paris’. Paris, circa 1890.
Width 145 cm / 57 in. Depth 58 cm / 23 in. Ref: B68540
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An identical commode was shown in the background of Lexcellent’s exhibition stand at the Paris Exposition Universelle in1900, where he
was awarded a coveted gold medal for the quality of his work. See ‘The Paris Exhibition 1900’, D. Coral Thomsen (ed.), Art Journal, 1901, p. 17. It is not recorded how many examples of this commode Lexcellent produced, but given the incredible exhibition quality of the gilt bronze mounts, and the unusual detail of the finely fitted interior, it is likely that the present commode may have been the one exhibited at the Paris Exposition. For a biography of Lexcellent see Appendix A.
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An Important and Rare Set of Four Large Porphyry Obelisks
Height 195 cm / 77 in.
French or Italian, circa 1880.
Width 40 cm / 16 in. Depth 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B68420
Porphyry is a remarkably hard, durable rock, which in antiquity derived its name from the fact that its intense, dark red colour, speckled with white inclusions, is similar to the purple colour called purpura by the Romans. The name was extended by association to the massif where porphyry was quarried in Egypt, which the Romans called Mons Porphyrites. The Romans began to quarry porphyry in the first century BC, employing it in such large quantities that by the fifth century AD the quarries were nearly exhausted. Porphyry was used extensively for monumental elements, and it became invested with an imperial symbolism, perhaps on account of its association with the colour purpura, which from ancient times had been the prerogative of regal dignity. The use of porphyry was in fact limited by Diocletian to the Imperial family. In later centuries, porphyry columns and other pieces were widely reused in new constructions, often reappearing far from their original Roman context. In 786, Charlemagne received permission from Pope Hadrian to remove classical columns of porphyry from Rome to build his cathedral at Aachen. This sacred and celebrative significance was felt and appreciated in the Renaissance courts: porphyry was among the materials most sought after by sixteenth-century collectors. In Florence, Grand Duke Cosimo I had a particular liking for the stone and sponsored its use in large-scale sculptural works. Given that the ability to execute large sculptural works in this arduous material had long since been lost, such works represented a remarkable technical accomplishment. The scale of this set of four obelisks made out of such a rare and difficult to work material, makes them truly remarkable.
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LA COMPAGNIE DES CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and CutCrystal Twenty-Four Light Chandelier by La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat
Height 106 cm / 42 in.
Paris, circa 1890.
Diameter 102 cm / 40 in. Ref: B68340
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The design for this unusual and sophisticated chandelier with gilt-bronze putti to the central band is illustrated in Baccarat’s ‘Tarif des Articles
d’Eclairace’, as Lustre Série E.193. A further variation with bronze arms and glass shades is illustrated as Série E.460. For a biography of Baccarat see Appendix A. Literature: Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat, Tarif des Articles d’Eclairace, Paris, Edition 1903–4, p. 37.
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MAISON MILLET
FRANÇOIS LINKE
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A Very Fine Louis XVI Style GiltBronze Mounted Mahogany and Japanese Lacquer Display Cabinet by Maison Millet
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Height 179 cm / 70 in.
Stamped to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘MB’ for Maison Millet. The lock plate inscribed ‘Théau Serrurier, Paris’. French, circa 1890.
Height 75 cm / 30 in.
Width 106 cm / 42 in. Depth 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B68650
For a biography of Maison Millet see Appendix A.
An Important Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Centre Table after a Model by Adam Weisweiler by François Linke
Width 76 cm / 30 in.
Signed ‘F Linke’ on the right-hand front leg and the reverse of the bronze cast with ‘FL’. Linke Index No. 114. Linke Title: Table Marie-Antoinette dessus Marbre French, circa 1910.
Depth 52 cm / 20 in.
For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A.
Ref: B68584
Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, pp. 122, 125, 161 and 502.
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58 A Very Fine Pair of Napoleon III Verre Églomisé Carved Giltwood and Gesso Mirrors French, circa 1890. The term verre églomisé is nowadays generically used for the process of decorating glass or mirror from the back. Strictly speaking it defines the process – the earliest examples of which date back to antiquity – of covering the reverse side of the glass with a layer of gold or silver leaf, which was then finely engraved and painted with a layer of colour that showed through the engraving when the glass was viewed from the front. Height 140 cm / 55 in. Width 102 cm / 40 in. Depth 15 cm / 6 in. Ref: B67720
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ALBERT-ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE
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An Exceptionally Rare and Historically Important Pair of Sèvres Porcelain Presentation Vases Designed by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse Presented to Alexandre Cabanel at the Exposition Des Beaux-Arts of 1874
Height 53 cm / 21 in.
Marked to the base ‘Dore A Sèvres’, ‘S74’, and incised ‘AD-74, 3’, and ‘P.V-R 74.2/BF’. Representing registration numbers for the shape and design, and the mark for Sèvres Manufacture Nationale and Doré a Sèvres. This mark was used from 1872–1899. French, dated 1874.
Diameter 20 cm / 8 in. Ref: B68741
The incised initials almost certainly refer to François-Alexandre David, gilder and painter at the Sèvres manufactory between 1844 and 1882. The vases have a distinctive ‘bottle’ shape with elongated faceted necks derived from early Persian metal ware. They are described in the Sèvres records from 1874 as ‘Vase Bouteille Persanne’. The main body is centred on the back by a cartouche containing the inscription: EXPOSITION DES BEAUX-ARTS, CABANEL, MEMBRE DE L’INSTITUT, VICE-PRESIDENT DU JURY SECTION DE PEINTURE, 1874. The inscription refers to the influential French painter Alexandre Cabanel who was vice president of the Salon jury responsible for selecting pictures for the 1874 Paris Salon. The Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris, was generally thought of as the most important annual
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exhibition in the world. As well as being a showcase for established artists, the exhibition gave up-and-coming artists the chance to present their work to discerning viewers. Alexandre Cabanel was considered one of the great academic painters of the Second Empire. He was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts and was elected member of the Academy of Fine Arts. Between 1868 and 1888, he sat on the Salon jury 17 times and received the prestigious Medal of Honour in 1865, 1867 and 1878. Celebrated in his own times for his classically rendered portraits and genre scenes, his fame today in part arises from his unequivocal opposition to the Impressionists. In April 1874, the year in which Cabanel was presented with the vases, a group of artists, the ones rejected by the Salon jury, opened an exhibition independent of the Salon as the Société anonyme des artistes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs. This was to be the first true exhibition of Impressionist art; the contributing artists included Cézanne, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Monet and Manet. The importance of Cabanel to the history of French painting, both as a painter and as a senior member of the Salon jury, and in his rejection of the Impressionists works from the 1874 Salon, makes this unusual pair of vases extremely significant and rare. For biographies of Sèvres and Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse see Appendix A. Provenance: De-accessioned from the Centennial Museum at the University of Texas.
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ALFRED-EMMANUELLOUIS BEURDELEY
JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER
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A Very Fine Pair of Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Five-Light Wall Appliqués after the Model by Pierre-Philippe Thomire attributed to AlfredEmmanuel-Louis Beurdeley
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A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Purpleheart and Marquetry Commode With A Brèche d’Alep-Marble Top by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener
Height 112 cm / 44 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 86 cm / 34 in.
Stamped ‘E. Zwiener’ to the carcass. French, circa 1890.
Width 114 cm / 45 in.
For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see Appendix A.
Width 58 cm / 23 in. Ref: B65931
This fine pair of wall appliqués are after the model by Thomire, supplied for the Château de Saint-Cloud. Another pair attributed to Thomire are in the collection of the Getty Museum, Los Angeles and a related pair in the Wallace Collection, London. The catalogue entry for the appliqués at the Wallace Collection notes that the firm of Beurdeley reproduced this model in the nineteenth century. Given the superb quality of the casting and chiselling in this present examples, they are most likely by Beurdeley. For a biography of Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley see Appendix A.
Depth 57 cm / 22 in. Ref: B68720
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COX & YEMAN
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An Exceptional Carved Walnut Full-Size Billiard Table and Accessories by Cox & Yemen
Height 91 cm / 36 in.
One end of the table bearing a label: ‘COX & YEMAN/Billiard Table Manufacturers/184. BROMPTON ROAD,/London.’ London, circa 1880.
Width 201 cm / 79 in. Depth 380 cm /150 in. Playing Area Width 178 cm / 70 in. Length 357 cm / 141 in. Ref: B66750
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Set also including: - A carved and figured walnut scoreboard by Cox & Yeman, London, - An oak and beechwood revolving cue stand, - A set of twenty-two ‘Aramith Phenolic’ resin billiard balls, - A collection of twenty cues and rests in ash and other timbers. For a biography of Cox & Yeman see Appendix A.
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PAUL FRANÇOIS MACHAULT
63 Height 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B68001
A Very Fine Pair of Bronze and Ivory Figures of Dancing Girls by Paul François Machault Each figure signed on the gilt-bronze base ‘Machault’. French, circa 1890. For a biography of Paul François Machault see Appendix A.
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A Rare and Large Finely Carved Dieppe Ivory Mirror
Height 140 cm / 55 in.
French, circa 1870.
Width 85 cm / 33 in. Ref: B69630
The initials ‘CV’ carved below the Belgian crest on the mirror are almost certainly a reference to Charlotte Victoire (Princess Charlotte) of Belgium (1840–1927). Princess Charlotte was the daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and Princess Louise of Orleans (daughter of King Louis Philippe of France). Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1857.
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A Fine and Decorative Pair of Carved Giltwood Console Tables and Mirrors
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A Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Lanterns
Total Height 278 cm / 109 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 97 cm / 38 in.
French, circa 1900.
Mirrors Height 188 cm / 74 in. Width 111 cm / 43 in.
Diameter 47 cm / 19 in. Ref: B69320
Tables Height 90 cm / 35 in. Width 111 cm / 43 in. Depth 50 cm / 20 in. Ref: B68850
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67 Overall Height 211 cm / 83 in. The Bureau Height 90 cm / 35in.
A Highly Unusual Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood and Marquetry Writing Desk and Cartonnier The clock face signed ‘BRINDEAU / A PARIS’. The lock plate signed ‘VF Paris’. French, circa 1880.
Width 85 cm / 33 in. Depth 82.5 cm / 32 in. Ref: B67900
JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME
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‘The Bacchante et L’Amour’ A Large and Important Gilt and Patinated-Bronze Sculpture by Jean Léon Gérôme
Height 96 cm / 38 in.
Signed ‘J L. GEROME’ and stamped with the Siot Foundry mark and ‘D 89’. French, circa 1895.
Width 29 cm / 11 in. Depth 27 cm / 11 in. Ref: B69220
Modelled by Gérôme in 1892, the sculpture relates closely to the artist’s 1868 painting Une Bacchante. For a biography of Jean-Léon Gérôme see Appendix A.
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69
A Finely Cast and Unusual Pair of Patinated and Gilt-Bronze Blackamoor Nine-Light Candelabra
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A Very Fine Louis XV Style GiltBronze Mounted and Japanese Lacquer Panel Commode
Height 128 cm / 50 in.
French, circa 1880.
Height 98 cm / 39 in.
Stamped to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘CVR’ and ‘A.C. 462’. French, circa 1900.
Width 45 cm / 18 in.
Width 156 cm / 61 in.
Depth 30 cm / 12 in.
Depth 72 cm / 28 in.
Ref: B68890
Ref: B68940
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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An Important Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Kingwood Bureau Plat by François Linke
Height 78 cm / 31 in.
Linke Index No. 972. Signed ‘Linke’ to one figural mount. The lock plate stamped ‘CT.LINKE/SERRURERIE/PARIS’. French, circa 1900.
Width 195 cm / 77 in. Depth 99 cm / 39 in. Ref: B69780
The impressive rococo style mounts of female figures were almost certainly designed by the sculptural genius Léon Messagé. Only seen on a few of Linke’s most important pieces, these figural mounts make this bureau plat extremely rare and highly sought after. The models for the figural mounts were originally supplied by Messagé for a Commode Coquille: Coquetterie et Modestie, (Linke Index No. 559), shown on Linke’s stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Linke was obviously pleased with the model and went on to create, in addition to this important bureau plat, a table incorporating la Coquetterie and la Modestie to display with the Commode Coquille for the 1902 Salon. Versions of this table were also supplied to the important collector Antonio Devoto and to the Palace of Ras-al-Tin for the King of Egypt. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Literature: Payne, Christopher, (2003), François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, p.142, pl. 151; p. 501.
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LUCILLE SÉVIN
72
A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Commode Á Vantaux after an Eighteenth-Century Model by Benneman
73
‘The Dancers’ An Exceptional Chryselephantine Ivory and ColdPainted Bronze Art Deco Figural Group by Lucille Sévin for Etling
Height 95 cm / 37 in.
French, circa 1890.
Height 53 cm / 20 in.
Signed to the bronze base ‘L. Sévin’ and ‘ETLING, Paris’. French, circa 1930.
Width 180 cm / 71 in. Depth 65 cm / 26 in. Ref: B68990
Stöckel and Benneman designed the model this commode was based on for Marie-Antoinette for the Salon des Jeux at Fontainebleau.
Width 40 cm / 16 in. Depth 13 cm / 5 in.
For biographies of Lucille Sévin and Etling see Appendix A.
Ref: B69060
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‘The 1851 Westminster Ewer’ An Important and Extremely Large Exhibition Malachite-Inlaid Derbyshire Black Marble Ewer
The Ewer
English, circa 1850.
Height 172 cm / 68 in.
This finely carved and inlaid black-marble ewer and basin is of truly impressive proportions. Almost certainly exhibited at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, it is one of the largest examples ever produced. The use of luxurious imported malachite, reserved for only the most expensive and prestigious projects, together with the geometric pattern of the inlay, suggests a date of manufacture prior to 1850 and production for an exhibition, which is in keeping with the item being exhibited in 1851. This is an important example of the production of highly decorative Derbyshire marble items, centred on the village of Ashfordin-the-Water. Under the patronage of the Duke of Devonshire and royalty, notably Prince Albert, the area became renowned for the production of precious objects honed from the fine-grained limestone quarried nearby, which was polished to a jet-black lustre. The main source of this marble – prized since antiquity for its decorative beauty, and as the finest black marble of its kind to be found anywhere in the world – was the Arrock Quarry near Ashford. By the mid-nineteenth century there were a number of important workshops in the area as well as numerous outworkers who undertook much of the inlay work on smaller items. The best-known firms were those of
Width 65 cm / 26 in. (widest point) The Basin Diameter 60 cm / 24 in. In addition the Plinth Height 86 cm / 34 in. Square 61 cm / 24 in. (top) Square 84 cm / 33 in. (base) Ref: B69100
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Thomas Woodruff of Bakewell, John Tomlinson of Ashford and Selim Bright and James Turner of Buxton. The popularity of Ashford marble reached its peak in the years following the Great Exhibition. Prince Albert himself exhibited three inlaid black marble tables made at the workshops of T. Woodruff, which were compared for their beauty at the time with the work of the Italian Masters. Other notable exhibitors included James Turner who exhibited two large black marble jugs, and Selim Bright who exhibited a pair of large classical vases carved from single blocks of marble. More often than not these works were unsigned, so attribution to a specific worker can prove elusive. The present ewer was acquired by Richard, 2nd Marquess of Westminster almost certainly directly from the Great Exhibition. We know also that he acquired from the exhibition the very large pair of marble vases by Selim Bright, so it is very possible that the ewer is also by Bright’s hand. A number of comparative ewers of similar form but of much smaller proportions, are held in the collection of the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. The Buxton Museum examples feature inlaid decoration of flowers and leaves in local spurs and agates, and include the distinctive swan-head handles. Provenance: Formerly the property of the second Marquess of Westminster, thence by descent at Fonthill Abbey. Most likely purchased at the Great Exhibition, London, 1851.
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C. BOURNIQUE & SOLEI HEBERT
75 A Fine Pair of Italian Rococo Style Carved Giltwood Console Tables and Mirrors by C. Bournique & C. / Solei Hebert Bearing a label to the reverse: ‘C. Bournique & C., Napoli, Via De Pretes 93, Succeduti aila ditta SOLEI HEBERT, RamoSpecchi (Cristalli) e. verti di’. Italian, circa 1890. The most distinctive feature of this fine pair of console tables and mirrors is the outset scroll and foliate rocaille carving at the shoulders of the frames. This carving clearly distinguishes the mirrors as uniquely Italian rather than French. Whilst drawing on eighteenth-century French Rococo styles, the overall openness of the scrollwork indicates a specifically nineteenth-century approach to the design, one that is both grand and well balanced in its proportions. For a biography of Bournique and Solei Herbert see Appendix A. Tables Height 98 cm / 39 in. Width 170 cm / 67 in. Depth 62 cm / 24 in. Mirrors Height 217 cm / 85 in. Width 140 cm / 55 in. Depth 25 cm / 10 in. Ref: B68960
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HENRY DASSON
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A Very Fine Louis XVI Style GiltBronze Mounted Mahogany Side Cabinet by Henry Dasson
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A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Cherub Six-Light Chandelier after the model by Pierre Gouthière
Height 128 cm / 50 in.
Stamped to the top of the carcass ‘HENRY DASSON’. French, circa 1880.
Height 122 cm / 48 in.
French, circa 1870.
Width 182 cm / 72 in. Depth 66 cm / 26 in. Ref: B69531
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For a biography of Henry Dasson see Appendix A.
Diameter 68 cm / 27 in. Ref: B68840
The original model for this chandelier was designed by Pierre Gouthière for Le Cabinet Doré in Marie-Antoinette’s private apartments at the Palace of Versailles, where it remains to this day. A design for the chandelier by Gouthière survives in the collections of the Museé des Arts Décoratifs.
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Le Grand Bureau A Magnificent Sculptural Writing Desk And Accompanying Chair, Exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 Designed and made by François Linke and Léon Messagé
Grand Bureau
The bronze mounts signed ‘F. Linke’ and stamped ‘LINKE’ to the reverse. Linke Index No. 550. Awarded the Médaille d’Or – Paris 1900. Paris, circa 1890.
Height 167 cm / 66 in. Width 203 cm / 80 in. Depth 120 cm / 47 in. Chair Height 102 cm / 40 in. Width 71 cm / 28 in. Depth 55 cm / 22 in. Ref: B69490
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Undoubtedly one of Linke’s most important creations, this exceptional tour de force made by his best craftsmen, and designed by Léon Messagé, won the coveted gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. The sheer audacity of its design and the technical brilliance of its execution render this desk one of the most significant pieces of furniture produced at the end of the nineteenth century and the apotheosis of what became known as the ‘belle époque’. Referred to as the Grand Bureau Louis XV at the time of the exhibition, not because it dated from the time Louis XV’s reign but because it paid homage to the style that evolved during those years. It was praised for its originality; unmistakeably an object of its time yet taking much of its inspiration from what came before. In these final years, before the First World War destroyed much of the social fabric of Europe, Linke’s furniture created for the 1900 exhibition represented the final fanfare of the unsurpassed and unrepeated luxury that went before. The desk represents the ‘Productivity of France and Man’. Its iconography symbolises the power and confidence of human achievement, the crowning glory of the fin de siècle. As such it reflects the whole ethos of the 1900 exhibition – to look forward to a new age. Intended to be seen first, the central bronze panel to the back of the desk is a beautifully cast and finished relief representing Agriculture and Commerce. A figure ploughs the fertile earth with a team of oxen, whilst in the background a galleon sails into the setting sun; agriculture represents the solid foundation for life giving the basis for wealth whilst the ship is a symbol of commerce and of new horizons. The female figure seated to the left, with pomegranates to her right and ears of corn behind, represents Abundance. The figures to each side are representative of Science and the Arts; essential to the material and spiritual needs of a healthy society. The sitter at the desk would have been unable
to see these powerful symbols but they must have dominated any salon. The desk itself is comprised of two cartonniers of bombé form each surmounted by discarded helmets, allegories of Peace. The youthful figures capping each leg are emblems of Vigilance and Discretion, also recalling iconography of an earlier age. The sheer vigour and hopefulness of this piece of furniture must have reflected Linke’s optimism for the future, both for his adopted nation France, and for his personal future as an ébéniste par excellence. A somewhat poignant irony set against the rise of militarist regimes in Europe. The Grand Bureau is recorded in Linke’s Daybook as Model No. 550. The daybooks give fascinating insights into its construction. Fauchon supplied the marquetry in 1898 at a cost of 588.50 francs. Several craftsmen including Finck completed the cabinetwork. Messagé was paid 5,000 francs and the distinguished gilder Picard carried out the gilding, for which he charged 3,500 francs. Drawing together leading craftsmen in such a way underlines how little the methods of constructing truly great furniture had changed since the days of Louis XV and the powerful guild system. For further background information on François Linke and the 1900 Exhibition see Appendix B. For the biographies of François Linke and Léon Messagé see Appendix A.
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FRIEDRICH GOLDSCHEIDER
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An Impressive Napoleon III Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Candelabra by Goelzer & Poumaroux
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Height 220 cm / 87 in.
Signed to the plinth ‘A. GOELZER & POUMAROUX, PARIS’. French, circa 1890.
Female Figure
Width 62 cm / 24 in. Depth 52 cm / 20 in. Ref: B69651
For a biography of Goelzer & Poumaroux see Appendix A.
A Pair of Finely Modelled Polychrome-Patinated Terracotta Figures Depicting Chinese Dancers attributed to Friedrich Goldscheider
Height 94 cm / 37 in.
Austrian, circa 1890.
Male Figure
For a biography of Goldscheider see Appendix A.
Height 101 cm / 40 in. Ref: B69652
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WANDENBERG
81 A Large and Impressive Louis XV Style Carved Giltwood and Gilt-Bronze Mounted Console Table with a Fleur de Pêcher Marble Top and Back Panel by Wandenberg Paris Stamped ‘WANDENBERG DOREUR, PARIS’. French, circa 1880. For a biography of Wandenberg see Appendix A. Height 165 cm / 65 in. Width 247 cm / 97 in. Depth 61 cm / 24 in. Ref: B69484
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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An Important Pair of Louis XV Style Giltwood and Aubusson Tapestry Fauteuils by François Linke
Height 107 cm / 42 in.
Linke Index No. 1360. Each stamped ‘F. Linke’. French, circa 1900.
Width 78 cm / 31 in. Depth 78 cm / 31 in. Ref: B69230
Giltwood furniture by Linke is not only rare, but can be difficult to identify, as it tends to be unmarked. It is therefore an unusual sign of quality that Linke decided to stamp these chairs with his name.
The chairs almost certainly formed part of a salon suite, commissioned by Elias Meyer for his drawing room at 16 Grosvenor Square, London, illustrated below from Christopher Payne’s book, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Epoque of French Furniture. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, p. 243.
Linke Archive / C. Payne
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83
A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted and Ebonised Guéridon with Sèvres Style Porcelain Plaques
Height 81 cm / 32 in.
French, circa 1880.
Diameter 75 cm / 30 in. Ref: B69640
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The plaques are marked to the reverse in underglaze blue with the Sèvres crossed ‘L’ mark and the letters ‘B’ and ‘S’. The plaques are further inscribed in black script with the name of each featured courtier.
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CHARLES HENRI-JOSEPH CORDIER
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Torchère La Femme Arabe A Very Rare and Important Life Size Patinated and Gilt-Bronze, Onyx, Marble and Enamelled Sculpture by Charles Henri-Joseph Cordier
The Figure
Signed to the marble base ‘C. CORDIER’. French, circa 1860.
Height 180cm / 71 in. Width 55 cm / 22 in. Depth 50 cm / 20 in. Pedestal Base Height 98 cm / 39 in. Diameter 70 cm / 28 in. Ref: B69600
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This grand torchère is one of the most important large-scale figural works created by the French ethnographic sculptor Charles Cordier. It is raised on a finely carved gesso and cream-painted pedestal with entwined leaves and acanthus carved to the base. Inspired by his travels in Tunisia in 1861, Cordier began to produce a small series of opulent life-size torchères between 1862 and 1867. The series represented the culmination of his research and experimentation in ethnographic and polychromatic sculptural form, perfected over the previous decade. The figures were depicted with an emphasis on the nobility of spirit, reflected in the use of luxurious and costly materials. Highly acclaimed at the time, the first of this important series of sculptures, a variation on
the present figure, was purchased by Empress Eugénie in 1862, and now resides in the Musée Chinois at Fontainbleau. The only other known example of the present figure, La Femme Arabe, was exhibited at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle and was illustrated in the Art Journal catalogue of the exhibition. For a biography of Charles Henri-Joseph Cordier see Appendix A. Provenance: Purchased by the Duc de Morny (d. March 1865) from Cordier’s studio sale 21 January 1865. Four years after the Duc’s death, his wife, Princess Sofía Troubetzkaya remarried. The torchère following her to the Alcañices Palace in Madrid, the home of her new husband, Jose Osorio y Silva-Bázan, Duque de Alburquerque y de Sesto 17th Marques de Alcañices, and thence by descent through the Osorio family. Literature: De Margerie, L and E. Papet, Facing the Other, Charles Cordier 1827–1905, Ethnographic Sculptor, exhibition catalogue, Dahesh Museum of Art (New York), 2004. McQueen, Alison, Empress Eugénie and the Arts: Politics and Visual Culture in the Nineteenth Century, Ashgate Publishing, 2011, p. 174.
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HENRY DASSON
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An Important Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Lacquer and Ebony Veneered Commode à Encoignure En Suite with a Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Ebony-Veneered Consoles Dessertes by Henry Dasson
Commode à Encoignure
The commode stamped to the carcass ‘HENRY DASSON 1888’. The consoles stamped ‘HENRY DASSON 1890’ to the carcass and signed ‘henry Dasson et Cie 1890’ to the gilt bronze border. French, dated 1888 and 1890.
Height 98 cm / 39 in. Width 164 cm / 65 in. Depth 47 cm / 19 in. Consoles Dessertes Height 87 cm / 34 in. Width 83 cm / 33 in. Depth 37 cm / 15 in. Ref: B69212 & B69213
The design for this important commode and pair of consoles was inspired by the famous commode à l’anglaise and pair of matching lacquer consoles supplied by the eighteenthcentury ébéniste Martin Carlin, for the rue
du Faubourg Saint- Honoré home of the Marquise de Brunoy. Seized at the time of the Revolution, the commode was separated from the consoles in 1802, when it was moved to the grand salon of the Premier Consul’s apartment at the Château de Saint-Cloud. It remained at Saint-Cloud until 1870, when it was transferred to the Louvre (Inv.OA5472). The pair of consoles are today in the Petit Trianon. Although closely related to Carlin’s model, Dasson makes a number of structural and aesthetic adaptions to the original design, arguably creating a form more balanced in its proportions reflecting a nineteenth century aesthetic. For a biography of Henry Dasson see Appendix A.
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86 The Apollo Régulateur An Important Exhibition Gilt-Bronze Mounted Regulator Longcase Clock by François Linke after the Model by Balthazar Lieutaud and Philippe Caffieri Linke Index No. 768. The white enamel dial inscribed ‘F. Linke /A Paris’. Signed ‘F. Linke’ to the right-hand side of the tapering giltbronze border. The movement numbered ‘20519’ and ‘20002’ with the ‘Etienne Maxent/Paris’ pastille. French, circa 1900. Linke produced three versions of this regulator clock. The present version, which features Apollo in his horse-drawn chariot and three bas-relief plaques of the seasons to the plinth base; a second version with Léon Messagé’s celebrated enfant guerrier as the surmount, with a single bas-relief plaque to the front of the clock, and a third version also incorporating the enfant guerrier, but with a newly designed front bas-relief panel. The present example, with the Apollo surmount, was exhibited at the 1905 Salon du Mobilier in Paris (see Payne p. 187, pl. 203); while the second version with the enfant guerrier, was shown at the 1902 Salon des Industries du Mobilier in Paris (see Payne, p. 170, pl. 184). The third version incorporating the enfant guerrier and the new classical bas-relief plaque, is not recorded as being exhibited but features prominently in two photographs of Linke’s Place Vendôme showrooms taken after 1903 (see Payne, pp. 160–1, pls. 171–2). The regulator is based upon the celebrated eighteenthcentury model by Balthazar Lieutaud with mounts by Philippe Caffieri, dated to 1767 and now housed in the Frick Collection, New York. Other eighteenth-century examples can be found in the Wallace Collection, the Palace of Versailles and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Towards the end of the nineteenth century a number of these celebrated clocks were included in popular public loan exhibitions possibly inspiring distinguished ébénistes, such as Linke and Alfred Beurdeley, to create their own versions. The enormous cost of producing the bronze mounts meant that only very few examples were created as items of haute-lux. The clockmaker Etienne Maxent was located at 4 rue Saintonge, Paris, between 1880 and 1905 and is known to have supplied movements for most of François Linke’s long case clocks. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge: UK), 2003, p. 160, pl. 171; p. 170, pl. 184; pp. 184–85, pls. 199–201; p. 187, pl. 203. The Frick Collection, Furniture in The Frick Collection: Italian and French Renaissance, French 18th and 19th Centuries, Part I, Vol. V, The Frick Collection (New York), 1992. Height 252 cm / 99 in. Width 56 cm / 22 in. Depth 36 cm / 14 in. Ref: B69190
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87 An Extremely Large and Impressive George II Style Giltwood Side Table with a Scagliola Top in the Manner of William Kent English, circa 1900 – incorporating eighteenth-century carved elements. Height 99 cm / 39 in. Width 249 cm / 98 in. Depth 85 cm / 33 in. Ref: B69550
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88
A Very Fine and Rare Set of Four Régence Style Gilt-Bronze and Rouge Griotte Marble Jardinières on Stands
Height 155 cm / 61 in.
French, circa 1870.
Diameter 50 cm / 20 in. Ref: B59089
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The bronze mounts and stands on this unusual set of four jardinières are of the highest quality. Featuring triple lion-paw monopodia stands, each headed by a finely cast Apollo mask, these jardinières are both impressive and elegant.
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E. HENRY
89 An Important and Extremely Large Gilt-Bronze Mounted Champlevé Enamel Clock Garniture by E. Henry The gilt-bronze dial signed ‘E. HENRY/PARIS’, the movement with a lozenge for ‘VICENTI’ and stamped ‘DUFAUD/PARIS’ and ‘HENRY/PARIS’. The clock case and urns are all stamped with the seal ‘EH’. Paris, Circa 1870. Clock Height: 88 cm / 35 in. Width: 38 cm / 15 in. Depth: 23 cm / 9 in. Urns Height: 55 cm / 22 in. Width: 28 cm / 11 in. Depth: 23 cm / 9 in. Ref: B67332
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MAISON GROHÉ
90
A Large and Impressive Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Buffet and Near Pair of Mahogany Consoles Dessertes with Exceptional GiltBronze Ram’s-Head Mounts by Maison Grohé
Console 1 Height 164 cm / 65 in. Width 152 cm / 60 in. Depth 70 cm / 28 in.
The buffet stamped ‘GROHÉ A PARIS’ twice to the top rail, and once to the drawer edge. The consoles stamped ‘GROHÉ A PARIS’ to the carcass. French, circa 1860.
Console 2 Height 164 cm / 65 in. Width 127 cm / 50 in. Depth 62 cm / 24 in.
For a biography of Maison Grohé see Appendix A.
Buffet Height 109 cm / 43 in. Width 218 cm / 86 in. Depth 60 cm / 24 in. Ref: B68915 & B68916
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FRANÇOIS LINKE
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A Rare Gilt-Bronze Mounted Rosewood and Kingwood Parquetry-Inlaid Side Cabinet by François Linke
Height 142 cm / 56 in.
Linke Title: Meuble d’appui Louis XVI en bois violette et satine. Linke Index No. 1365. The bronze mounts stamped to the reverse ‘LINKE’. The lock signed ‘Clement LINKE’. French, circa 1900.
Width 150 cm / 59 in. Depth 49 cm /19 in. Ref: B69810
This cabinet appears in Linke’s Blue Book 694–1571, and is a variation on an earlier
cabinet, Index No 964. A pencil sketch of Index No. 964 from Linke’s Daybook is illustrated by Christopher Payne on page 483 of François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture. For a biography of François Linke see Appendix A. Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946), The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, p. 483.
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A Very Rare Viennese Rococo Style Rosewood and Bone Inlaid-Marquetry Writing Desk with a Matching Chair
Desk
Two printed labels to the underside of the desk ‘SSA EMILIA P. THURN Valsassina / ROMA L. GO PONCHIELLI MR4’. Viennese, circa 1880.
Height 99 cm / 39 in. Width 138 cm / 54 in. Depth 71 cm / 28 in. Chair Height 97 cm / 38 in. Width 52 cm / 20 in. Ref: B69650
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Provenance: Property of Emilia von Thurn Valsassina wife of Prince Luigi di Frasso Dentice.
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Appendix A, Biographies Baccarat Baccarat is the world’s leading manufacturer of crystal ware. Founded in 1764 under the patronage of Louis XV as Renault et Compagnie, the firm became known as the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat during the nineteenth century. The company began to flourish at the beginning of the nineteenth century as the effects of the Napoleonic Wars abated, and its reputation was consolidated by official approval from various sovereigns and heads of state. At the 1823 Exposition Nationale in Paris, it was Baccarat’s crystal ware that Louis XVIII was said to have particularly admired, appreciating its ‘beautiful workmanship’. It was Charles X’s visit to the crystal works in 1828, however, that had the most significant repercussions for the company. Baccarat presented the monarch with a gift of two magnificent Medici vases, a large crystal ewer, a fifteen-piece tea service and a fivepiece water set. The king then ordered a dinner service for the Tuilleries, while the Duchess d’Angoulême personally chose a set of eighteen glasses, described by her as ‘...sturdy, balanced, perfect’. Later LouisPhilippe and Napoleon II also visited the crystal works and were followed by a succession of French presidents and foreign heads of state. François-Eugène de Fontenay (who joined the company in 1841) discovered that by the addition of nickel oxide in the manufacturing process, a perfectly clear product ‘crystal glass’, free of discolouration and imitating precious rock crystal was produced. This is just one of many technical innovations and improvements discovered by Baccarat that made the company as successful as it is today. The Baccarat company was awarded a gold medal at the French Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in 1855 and has continued to carry off the top prizes ever since. In 1867 Baccarat exhibited a gigantic fountain 24 feet tall, with a basin 10 feet in diameter, which it was said, ‘simply took visitors’ breath away’. With the continuing improvement in their manufacturing standards, the quality of Baccarat’s ‘crystal glass’ improved and reached the highest level by the end of the century, competing successfully with the Bohemian glass industry. Baccarat crystal glass is highly regarded, not only for its unusual clarity, but also for its great solidity and weight. Bibliography Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat, Tarif des Articles d’Eclairace, (Paris), Edition 1903–4. Curtis, Jean-Louis, Baccarat, Thames and Hudson (London), 1992. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 263. Barbedienne Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810–1892) was the inspiration and driving force behind one of
the most important French art foundries. The Barbedienne foundry employed up to three hundred skilled labourers, handling the casting of numerous national monuments and architectural schemes. Ferdinand Barbedienne also took an active part in the promotion of contemporary sculpture and became one of the founders for David d’Angers’ medallions and much of François Rude’s sculpture. His signature varied from hand written to stamps in capitals, but most usually is ‘F. Barbedienne Fondeur’ or ‘BARBEDIENNE PARIS’. In 1850 Barbedienne was commissioned to furnish the Paris Town Hall for which he was awarded with the Médaille d’honneur at the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle. Bibliography Barbedienne, Ferdinand, Catalogue des Bronzes d’art 1886 (Paris), 1886. Fonderie d’art Francaise: Val D’Osne, Fonderie de Tusey, Antoine-Louis Barye, Fonderie Rudier, Charles Crozatier, Ferdinand Barbedienne, Livres Groupe, 2010. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 23, 120, 155, 161 and 179. Kjellberg, Pierre, Les Bronzes du XIX siècle: dictionnaire des sculpteurs, Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 2005. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Barbetti Angiolo Barbetti (1805–1873) was a skilled carver, designer and decorator, with a flourishing atelier in Florence during the nineteenth century. After working in his father Massimiliano’s atelier in Siena, he took up an apprenticeship with Giovacchino Guidi, considered one of Siena’s finest ebenisti. By 1826–7, he had established a workshop on the Piazza San Giovanni, Siena and in 1830 exhibited his first works at the Istituto delle Belle Arti. In November 1842 Barbetti moved his workshop to Florence, establishing himself near the Ponte alle Grazie. Commissions from this period included carvings for the interiors of the Villa San Donato for Prince Anatole Demidoff. Barbetti took part in many of the international exhibitions of the second half of the nineteenth century, including the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, where he was awarded a medal for a suite of carved walnut furniture. Following the exhibition the suite of furniture was purchased by the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains today. Joined in the business by his four sons Rafaello, Egisto, Ottavio and Rinaldo by the beginning of 1860, the firm of Barbetti continued to find international success exhibiting successfully at the 1861 Florence Exhibition, the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle and the Vienna Exhibition of 1873.
Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 41. Simone Chiarugi, ‘La bottega di Angiolo Barbetti a Siena e Firenze’, in C. Paolini, A. Ponte and O. Selvafolta, Il bello ‘ritrovato’, Novara, De Agostini, 1990, pp. 220–223. Simone Chiarugi, ‘La fortuna degli intagliatori senesi’, in Siena tra Purismo e Liberty, exhibition catalogue, A. Mondadori and De Luca (Milan and Rome), 1988. Besarel Valentino Panciera Besarel (1829–1902) established himself in Venice in the1860s where he opened an atelier and shop. He soon distinguished himself as a creator of exquisite sculpture and furniture for wealthy private patrons and the royal courts. The strong sculptural theme of his furniture was directly influenced by the work of the seventeenth-century master Andrea Brustolon (1662–1732) to whose work he had been frequently exposed in Venice. Besarel is noted as having exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. Bibliography De Grassi, Massimo, Valentino Panciera Besarel 1829–1902, Provincia Di Belluno Editore (Verona), 2002. Beurdeley The Beurdeley family were a flourishing dynasty of three generations of fine quality cabinetmakers working from 1818 to 1895. The firm was particularly well known for its exceptional metalwork, most commonly basing their designs on important eighteenthcentury examples. Their mercurial gilding and hand chasing are often of such a high standard that it is difficult to distinguish it from late eighteenth-century work. The founder of the dynasty Jean Beurdeley (1772–1853) was a Burgundian craftsman conscripted into the Napoleonic army. After hostilities ended in 1815 Beurdeley settled in Paris, opening a shop for curiosités and working as a latter day marchand-mercier. Initially based on the rue Saint-Honoré, in 1840 Beurdeley moved to the famous Hanover Pavilion, situated on the corner of rue Louis-Legrand and boulevard des Italiens, where the business was run by his only surviving son, Louis-Auguste-Alfred (1808–1882). The success of the business – which had numerous official commissions, including in 1853 the marriage coffer for the Empress Eugénie – was continued by Louis’ son, Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis (1847–1919). The business continued in its traditional style with very few variations until 1895. Alfred, along with the most famous artists of the period, took part in the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle, where he won the gold medal. Following on from this glory, he went on to open a shop in New York. His participation in the 1883 Amsterdam Universal Exhibition drew even further attention to his work, and possibly as a result,
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Adrian Alan he was awarded the Ordre National de la Legion d’honneur, France’s highest official mark of recognition. The incredible quality of each generation’s work ranked the firm of Beurdeley as preeminent amongst Parisian makers of meubles de luxe. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 75–82. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de L’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 262–76. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 175, 247, 269, 270, 290, 298. Boschetti The workshop of Benedetto Boschetti (1820–1870) was renowned for the exceptional quality of its marble work ‘after the antique’. From his premises at 74 via Condotti in Rome, Boschetti supplied extremely high quality works of art to satisfy the academic and sophisticated tastes of young Englishmen on the Grand Tour. His work was widely praised and he was awarded a medal at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. The most celebrated examples of his work today are a mosaic table depicting the Triumph of Cupid in the Gilbert Collection, London, and the fine reductions of the Warwick Vase, one now in the Toledo Museum, Ohio, the other featured on pages 30-31. Bibliography Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar, Il tempio del gusto, Longanesi (Milan), 1986. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 41. Bournique / Solei Hebert Bournique was an important Neapolitan manufacturer of glass, crystal and mirror plates, active in the second half of the nineteenth century. Towards the end of the century the firm became successors to the crystal, glass and mirror division of another firm, Solei Hebert. Its success was to continue into the early years of the twentieth century, embracing new styles and technical innovations. Solei Hebert was an important nineteenthcentury Italian furniture maker and furnishing company. At the end of the century the furniture workshops were taken over by the famous firm of Ducrot, who won medals at the 1902 Turin International Exhibition and furnished, amongst other important commissions, the parliament building in Rome. Bibliography Giarrizzo, Mario and Aldo Rotolo, Il mobile Siciliano: dal barocco al Liberty, Flaccovio, (Rome), 2004.
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Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887) was an important Parisian sculptor who signed his work ‘Carrier’. The sculptor Fauconnier trained CarrierBelleuse before he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1840, where he studied under David d’Angers. He later abandoned this formal training in order to develop his interest in a more decorative, Romantic style – in which he showed a healthy independence. Carrier-Belleuse made his debut at the Salon in 1851 before moving to England where he worked in the design shop, at Minton’s ceramic porcelain works in Staffordshire until 1854. Here he trained under Leon Arnoux. Upon his return to Paris in 1855 he embarked on a series of important pieces that included work at the Louvre, the Hôtel de Païva, the Opéra, the Hôtel de Ville and the Théâtre Français. As one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the nineteenth century, he made his reputation with the group Salve Regina, which was shown at the 1861 Paris Salon. His later works Bacchante (1863) and The Messiah (1867) won him medals and the Légion d’ honneur – the ultimate recognition. In the last years of the Second Empire he executed many public commissions and was highly regarded by Napoleon III, who referred to him as ‘our Clodion’. Carrier-Belleuse worked in every medium, both traditional and modern, even experimenting with galvanoplasty and electroplating. His combination of materials, such as porcelain, for the features of his bronze statuettes, anticipated the chryselephantine figures of the turn of the century. In 1875 he was appointed Director of Works at the Sèvres porcelain factory. He employed a galaxy of rising young sculptors as assistants, who at one time or another included Rodin and Mathurin Moreau, though his own work showed little sympathy with the modern movement which Rodin was instrumental in developing. His bronzes include many busts of historic and contemporary celebrities, classical and allegorical figures, figures in period costume, nude statuettes, bas-reliefs and even sculptural staircases and interior decoration. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 194. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 61, 150. Segard, Achille, A. Carrier-Belleuse, H. Champion (Paris), 1928. Lami, Stanislas, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l’école français, H. Champion, (Paris), 1914. Christofle Charles Christofle, who took over the business of his brother-in-law Joseph-Albert Bouilhet, established Christofle as silversmiths in Paris in 1830. From the beginning, in addition to his own design studio, Christofle sought out
leading artists, sculptors and ornamentalists, as well as accomplished designers, to create extraordinary pieces and collections. In the 1840’s the firm introduced to France the revolutionary technique of silverplating metal by electrolysis. The statues crowning the roof of the Garnier Opera House in Paris are among the most impressive examples of this pioneering technique. Prestigious commissions from royalty and heads of state, including King Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III bear witness to Christofle’s success and reputation. Amongst other commissions Christofle made castings for a lady’s writing desk displayed at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle and also for a child’s cradle purchased by Napoleon III. Bibliography Blair, Claude, The History of Silver, Ballantine Publishing Group (New York), 1987. Dorsan, Sibel, ‘Christofle: A Legend Revisited’, Diplomat Monthly Magazine, June 2006. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, p. 128. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Rosenberg, David, Christofle, Assouline (London), 2006. Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier (1827–1905) studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and also under François Rude. He exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon of 1847, and shortly after became fascinated with North Africa and its people, in particular France’s newly acquired colony Algeria. This choice of subject was based on a combination of childhood fantasies of voyages to far-away places and the socio-political, cultural and artistic climate of the time. France, having recently conquered Algeria, had launched herself into a period of colonisation. This Orientalism and a preoccupation with the exoticism of distant continents was not something new. It was Cordier, however, who gave three-dimensional life to this trend through his sculpture. His first major success was at the 1848 Salon where he exhibited a bust entitled Saïd Abdallah de la tribu du Darfour. The bust was received with great acclaim and a copy ordered in bronze by the French government. This success was followed at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, where alongside the bust of Saïd Abdallah he exhibited the enchanting and beautiful bust Vénus Africaine, both of which were purchased by Queen Victoria. Confirming that interest in this type of subject matter was not exclusively French (de Margerie and Papet, p. 205, cats. 480–1) In 1851 Cordier was appointed ethnographic sculptor to the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, a post he held
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Adrian Alan for fifteen years. His interest in ethnography, combined with his passion for the use of polychrome in sculpture, led him to create exceptional bronze and marble sculptures, using luxurious materials and surface treatments such as ‘galvanoplasty’; a process of silver-plating pioneered by the Parisian silversmith Christofle. He rejected the repetitive monochrome sculpture of the Romantic movement and in 1856 funded by the École des Beaux-Arts, he set off for Algeria to explore the multi-coloured marbles and onyx of its recently re-opened quarries, and to observe its people first-hand. At the height of his artistic maturity in the 1860s, Cordier developed a more opulent approach in his choice of materials and a greater ambition in the scale of his works. Following his travels in Tunisia in 1861, he returned to Paris to create a series of exceptional grand torchères. These included his initial 1862 Femme Arabe, purchased by the Empress Eugénie for Fontainbleau, a pair of torchères exhibited at the 1862 London Exhibition, and the remarkable Femme Arabe purchased by the Duc de Morny in Cordier’s studio sale of 1865, featured on pages 136137. This series of life-size grand torchères created in the 1860s, marked the culmination of Cordier’s experimentation with the use of polychrome in sculpture and an academic approach to ethnographic subjects. Opulent and dramatic, they are considered a tour de force amongst his later works. Cordier undertook many important commissions during the Second Empire, including works for the Paris Opéra, the Louvre, the Paris Hôtel de Ville, and monuments to Ibrahim Pasha in Cairo and to Christopher Columbus in Mexico. Private commissions included works for Baron de Rothschild at the Château de Ferrières amongst others. In the last quarter of the century he continued to exhibit with success at many of the international exhibitions, his last works being exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1904. He died in Algiers in 1905 at the age of 78. Bibliography De Margerie, L and E. Papet, Facing the Other: Charles Cordier 1827–1905, Ethnographic Sculptor, exhibition catalogue, Dahesh Museum of Art (New York), 2004. Durand-Revillon, J, ‘Un promoteur de la sculpture polychrome sous le second empire’, in Bulletin de la Société de l’histoire de l’art français, 1984, pp. 181–98. Meyer, Jonathan, (2006), Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p 135, pl. D46, p. 236. Trapadoux, M, L’Oeuvre de M. Cordier, galerie anthropologique et ethnographique pour servir à l’histoire des races (Paris), 1860. Cox & Yeman The billiard table manufacturers Cox & Yeman was established in the 1850s, and by 1873 was trading from premises at 184 Brompton Road, London. Famed for the
quality of its tables, it is recorded as supplying important patrons such as the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Jersey, the Nwab Nizam of Bengal, the Shah of Persia and the King of Siam. Cox & Yeman was also noted as suppliers of billiard tables for the War Office and the Admiralty, supplying the far-flung outposts of the empire and producing, ‘Tables and Lamps made expressly for India and Extreme Climates’. In 1876 the partnership was dissolved but the company continued to trade successfully under the Cox & Yeman name, under the sole direction of Henry Cox, until finally closing in 1910. Henry Dasson Born in 1825, Henry Dasson was one of the finest makers of gilt-bronze mounted furniture in the nineteenth century. With a workshop established in Paris at 106 rue Vieille-du-Temple, he specialised predominantly in the production of Louis XIV, XV and XVI style furniture using the very finest gilt-bronze mounts. In 1871, he purchased the flourishing business and remaining stock of CharlesGuillaume Winckelsen, who had established a reputation for furniture of the highest quality. Dasson almost certainly inherited the craft of ciseleur from Winckelsen. At the 1878 and 1889 Paris Expositions Universelles Dasson exhibited a number of pieces in the Louis XV and XVI styles, as well as pieces of his own modified eighteenthcentury design. The exhibits in 1878 included a table entirely in gilt-bronze, purchased by Lord Dudley. His copy of the celebrated Bureau du Roi sold at the same exhibition to Lady Ashburton. Jonathan Meyer illustrates a number of exceptional items exhibited by Dasson in 1889 in his book on the Great Exhibitions. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 269–70. Mestdagh Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 146–51. Etling Edmond Laurent Etling founded the firm of Etling in 1909. His foundry produced very fine ornamental items including bronze, and bronze and ivory statues, ceramics and glass. He had a shop in Paris at 29 rue de Paradis where his most exclusive art objects were sold. Etling represented world-famous sculptors and artists like Dimitri Chiparus, A. Godard, Claire-Jean Roberte Colinet, Lucille Sévin and her husband Jean Theodore Delabassé, Gazan, Georges Béal, Maurice GuiraudRivière and Marcel Guillard. These artists were all leading members of the French Modern Art movement. By creating a retail
business outlet, Etling played a significant role in encouraging the artists to develop the style that later became known as Art Deco. Etling pieces are famous for their innovative design and quality and are highly sought after. Bibliography Gallagher, Fiona, Christies’s Art Deco, Pavilion Books (London) 2002, pp. 61, 139, 141. Fournier A.M.E Fournier was established by 1850 in Paris at 109 boulevard Beaumarchais, and later at boulevard des Capucines. As well as exceptional carved furniture, Fournier was famed for his upholstered work, shown at many of the great exhibitions of the period, including the 1867 Exposition Universelle. His most famous creation was a wonderfully naturalistic giltwood rope-twist stool, which was as highly sought after in his own period as it is today. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, p. 209. Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) was a French painter and sculptor, known for his highly accomplished academic style. A student of Paul Delaroche, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and exhibited frequently at the Paris Salon with great success, earning himself numerous medals. Regarded as one of the initiators of the neo-Greek style, his works were of great influence to the Parisian art world of the nineteenth century. Although today best known as a painter of historical and mythological subjects, he created a large number of exceptional sculptures, many of which were exhibited to great acclaim at the Great Exhibitions of the period. His first work was a large bronze statue of a gladiator holding his foot on his victim, shown to the public at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle. This bronze was based on the main theme of his painting Pollice verso (1872). The same year he exhibited a marble statue at the 1878 Salon, based on his early painting Anacreon, Bacchus and Cupid (1848). Among his other works are Omphale (1887), and the statue of the Duc d’Aumale (1899) that stands in front of the Château de Chantilly. His life-size statue Bellona (1892), in ivory, bronze and gemstones, attracted great attention at the exhibition in the Royal Academy of London. The artist then began an interesting series of ‘conquerors’ wrought in gold, silver and gems entitled Bonaparte Entering Cairo (1897), Tamerlane (1898) and Frederick the Great (1899). Works by Gérôme are now in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia; the National Gallery, London and many more leading institutions worldwide.
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Adrian Alan Bibliography Ackerman, G.M, La Vie et l’oeuvre de Jean-Léon Gérôme, ACR Édition Internationale (Courbevoie, France), 1992. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 236. Goelzer and Poumaroux Maison Goelzer was founded by Philippe Goelzer (1816–1881) in Paris in the first half of the nineteenth century and specialised in light fixtures and gas engineering. Goelzer was almost certainly joined in the business in the last quarter of the century by his nephew Achille Henri Goelzer (b.1850) and his son Albert Goelzer (b.1857). Achille Henri was recorded in 1878 as a manufacturer of gas appliances at 182 rue Lafayette, while Albert was recorded in 1885 as a sculptor, also at the same address. Éditions du Génie Civil, Volume 1, published in 1880, records the formation of the partnership of A. Goelzer and Poumaroux, fabricators of lighting fixtures, bronzes and gas engineers at the same address. Goelzer and Poumaroux amongst other important commissions are recorded as supplying the grand chandelier for L’Opera d’Alger in 1901. Bibliography Éditions du Génie Civil et de la Métallurgie Tour Palerme, Volume 1, 1880, p. 375. Goldscheider The Goldscheider firm was founded in 1885 by Friedrich Goldscheider in Vienna. A man with an outstanding creative vision, he recognised the importance of the orientalism movement at that time and decided to create a particular style of orientalist terracotta sculptures. The models were designed by renowned Viennese artists, including Arthur Strasser, and were primarily of North African and African American subjects. The company also produced a series of historical, classical and theatrical subjects including Othello and Henry VIII. In 1891 the firm were granted the patent for decorating wares with a bronze colour. The new wares achieved great popularity, especially in Paris, and in 1892 Goldscheider opened a branch there for producing ‘bronzed’ articles. In 1893 these were presented at the International Exhibition in Leipzig and at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. After Friedrich’s death in France in 1897, his wife Regina and brother managed the firm and continued to produce romantic models of women reflecting the Art Nouveau style. Bibliography Goldscheider, Filipp and Robert E. Dechant, Goldscheider: History of the Company and Catalogue of Works, Arnoldsche (Stuttgart), 2007.
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Grohé Frères’ Guillaume and Jean-Michel Grohé, worked together from 1829 until Jean Michel retired in 1861, the younger brother Guillaume continuing until 1884. They exhibited at the French Industrial Exhibition in 1834, and in 1847 became known as Grohé Frères with Guillaume the principal partner. Guillaume supplied many royal houses, including Queen Victoria, from 1862 onwards. He was also said to have made a great impression on, and supplied furniture to King Louis Philippe, Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. Guillaume favoured the Louis XVI style but made pieces in differing styles, exhibiting almost continually from 1834 to 1878. Guillaume was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1849. The work of Grohé was praised in the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle as ‘supérieurs à ceux de Riesener et Gouthière’ (‘superior to those of Riesener and Gouthière’). Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 237–44. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 97, 98, 100, 230. Hancock & Co. Hancock, Shepherd and Rixon is listed as having premises at No.1 Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, London. It was an important and very successful chandelier manufacturer during the last part of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, with special appointments to the Emperor of Russia and King George III of England. In 1819, the firm supplied a large chandelier to the Marquess of Westminster for his dining room at Eaton Hall, Cheshire. In the 1830s, when the firm were known as Hancock and Rixon, it supplied ‘One 4-light gold coloured antique lamp’ for St. James’s Palace on 29 June 1833, and on 31 December 1835 was recorded in the Windsor account books as having supplied four large chandeliers for the grand reception rooms at Windsor for William IV. Bibliography Mortimer, Martin, The English Glass Chandelier, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2000. Holland & Sons Holland & Sons was recorded as early as 1815 as Taprell and Holland and by 1851 rivalled Gillows as one of England’s greatest furniture producers. Its success and reputation were due not only to its sphere of clients but to the wide range of services it offered. Having formed an alliance with Thomas Dowbiggin of 23 Mount Street, London (the maker of the state throne for Victoria’s coronation), the company became cabinet-
makers and upholsterers to Queen Victoria. Holland & Sons first commission was for Osborne House in 1845 for which it supplied furniture in the Queens favourite Louis XVI style. The company continued to supply furniture for Osborne House until 1869, and also gained further royal commissions for Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House. Other private commissions included items supplied to Arundel Castle, Harewood House and Ickworth. Holland & Sons were responsible for the interiors of London’s principal gentlemen’s clubs including the Athenaeum, Reform, Army and Navy, Oxford and Cambridge and Carlton Clubs. The company worked for many leading English national institutions including the British Museum, the Great Western Railway and the Royal Academy. Along with Gillows it shared the commission for furnishing the new Palace of Westminster and other government buildings. As would be expected, Holland & Sons also participated in many of the leading international exhibitions including London in 1862, Vienna in 1873 and Paris in 1867 and 1872. The company’s labelled Daybooks are now housed in the National Archive of Art and Design where they present a virtual ‘who’s who’ of nineteenth-century society. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Roberts, H, For the King’s Pleasure, The Royal Collection (London), 2001, pls. 279 and 339. Symonds, R and B. Whineray, Victorian Furniture, Country Life (London) 1962. Christian Krass Christian Krass was a cabinetmaker with workshops located in the french town of Lyon. He was known for the high quality of his work and later in his career for furniture created in a distinctly Modernist style. He studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs d’Aubusson and was later apprenticed to the master of art deco furniture Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. Most pieces of Krass’s furniture are unique, or executed in two or three examples at most. They often make use of the most expensive and rare woods enlivened with finely cast mounts. One of Krass’s most important pieces was made for the Aga Kahn and exhibited at the Salon de la Société Lyonnaise des Beaux-Arts in 1937. Bibliography Roche, Thierry, Les Arts décoratifs à Lyon1910– 1950, Éditions Beau Fixe (Lyon), 1999, p. 14. Krieger Antoine Krieger together with his brother Nicolas launched Maison Krieger in 1826 at 17 rue Saint-Nicolas, Paris. In 1850 the firm was re-formed as Antoine Krieger et Cie. When Antoine Krieger died in 1856, his son-
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Adrian Alan in-law began running the company and decided to change the name to Cosse-Racault et Cie. Finally, in 1880 the name was changed again to Krieger, Damon et Cie when the firm merged with Damon et Colin, and was then located at 74 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. Maison Krieger exhibited at the 1849 Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in Paris and at the Universal Exhibitions of 1851 in London and 1855, again in Paris. At the 1851 Great Exhibition in London Kreiger were awarded a medal for an exhibition oak sideboard made for a client from the Ottoman Empire. Maison Krieger created numerous furniture styles, and the firm exhibited at all the major exhibitions of the nineteenth century up to, and including, the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Maison Kreiger is recorded as being a very active client of François Linke and occasionally the firm’s label can be found on Linke pieces. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 396. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Lalique The name Lalique is synonymous with French Art Nouveau. René Jules Lalique (b. 1860) began working as an apprentice to the jeweller and goldsmith Louis Aucoc in 1876. He combined his apprenticeship with evening classes at the École des Arts Décoratifs, before moving to London in 1878 to continue his studies. Returning to Paris in 1880, Lalique took up the position as a jewellery designer with M. Vuilleret, on rue de Santonage, Paris. By 1882 he was designing for Boucheron, Cartier and Jacta amongst other important Maisons. He took over Jules Destapes’ jewellery workshop in 1885 allowing him to concentrate on more innovative designs incorporating semi-precious materials such as glass. Lalique pursued innovative experimentation in glass during the 1880s and 1890s, his works were moulded using the ‘lost wax’ technique. Lalique glass was made in this manner until approximately 1905 when he opened a glassworks at Combs-laVille By the 1930s Lalique was renowned worldwide as the most important art-nouveau designer of his time. Favoured motifs during the Art Nouveau period included dancing nymphs, fish, dragonflies and foliage, often with acid-etched relief. Later items were made in a variety of colours and were occasionally accented with enamelling, but it was his use of pressed or moulded opalescent glass with its ethereal translucent colour for which he is most renowned. Bibliography Mortimer, Tony L, Lalique, Chartwell Books (Secaucus, NJ), 1989. Warmus, William, The Essential René Lalique, Harry N. Abrams (New York), 2003.
Lexcellent E Guillaume-Edmond Lexcellent was born in Paris in 1834. He was a maker and retailer of the highest quality furniture in many different styles, drawing inspiration from the work of Riesener and Weisweiler as well as creating many original designs. His shop was situated in Paris at 46 rue de Charenton in 1867, and from 1868 at rue Bréguet. He exhibited successfully at a number of exhibitions including the Expositions Universelles, where he received an honourable mention in 1855, a bronze medal in 1867 and a gold medal in 1889. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, Peter, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 162, 191, 192. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, p. 434. François Linke François Linke was the most important Parisian cabinetmaker of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and possibly the most sought after cabinetmaker of his period. He was born in 1855 in the small village of Pankraz, in what is now the Czech Republic. Records show that Linke served an apprenticeship with the master cabinetmaker Neumann, then in 1875 at the age of 20 he arrived in Paris where he lived until he died in 1946. It is known that the fledgling Linke workshops were active in the Faubourg Saint Antoine as early as 1881, and during this time he supplied furniture for other more established makers such as Jansen and Krieger. The quality of Linke’s craftsmanship was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries and reached its peak with his spectacular stand at the Paris Exhibition Universelle in 1900, where his Grand Bureau (see pages 122-127) took a gold medal. He gambled his fortune and reputation on this stand, exhibiting several breath-taking items of furniture with sculptural mounts of the most exceptional quality and proportion. His gamble worked and his reputation was established to such an extent that Linke continued to be the preeminent furniture house in Paris until the Second World War. The formation of Linke’s distinctive style was made possible by his collaboration with Léon Messagé. Together Linke and Messagé designed furniture for Linke’s 1900 exhibition stand, with exuberant allegorical figures cast in high relief, that exemplified Linke’s ability to seamlessly merge the different mediums of wood carving, bronze and marquetry into a dynamic unified whole. Today Linke is best known for the exceptionally high quality of his work and his individualism and inventiveness. All of his work has the finest, most lavish mounts, very often applied to comparatively simple carcasses of quarter-veneered kingwood or
tulipwood. The technical brilliance of his work and the artistic change that it represented were never to be repeated. For further information on Linke and his success at and after the 1900 Paris Exhibition see Appendix B. Bibliography Croal Thomson, D (ed), ‘The Paris Exhibition 1900’, The Art Journal, 1901, p. 341. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 439–3. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 298–300. Payne, Christopher, François Linke, (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003. Revue Artistique & Industrielle, (Paris), July–August 1900. Paul François Machault Paul François Machault was born in Paris in 1835, the son of Paul Emile Machault (b. 1800), a prominent sculptor. He debuted at the Salon in 1864 and went on to exhibit at many of the Paris Salons and international expositions of the period to considerable acclaim, establishing himself as a master craftsman of the period. Bibliography Benezit, E, Dictionaire des Peintures Sculpteurs Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Volume 8, Librairie Grund (Paris), 1999, p. 922. Léon Messagé Little is known about the life of the sculptural genius Léon Messagé (d.1901), and his brilliant, but short-lived career. He is best known for his incredible sculptural collaboration with François Linke for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A gifted sculptor, Messagé was also responsible for much of the design and creative work for Roux et Brunet and Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener. Messagé enjoyed great success as a designer/sculptor before his collaboration with Linke. Indeed he was mentioned as a gold medal winner at the 1889 International Exhibition and was especially praised for his work on a cabinet by Zwiener. He came in to contact with Linke in 1885 and it appears that from then on Linke employed him on a regular basis. Messagé was primarily influenced by rococo ornament but he strove to re-interpret it. He did not produce slavish copies, and his original approach can be appreciated in Linke’s celebrated Grand Bibliothèque and Grand Bureau exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A number of drawings by Messagé are recorded and after his success at the exhibition of 1889 he was encouraged to publish his designs. Cahier de dessins & croquis, style Louis XV: bronzes, orfevrerie, decoration, meubles was first published by the sculptor himself, from his Paris address of 40, rue Sedaine. There were
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Adrian Alan five sections with an elaborate title page surmounted by the sculptor’s cipher or talisman of a wing, a pun on his own name as the messenger to the Gods, a motif he used many times on the handles of furniture designed for Linke. As a sculptor Messagé was trained to produce a wax maquette or model prior to working on a piece. It is especially interesting that his maquettes were of the piece of furniture in its entirety, a rare and exacting task occasionally seen for eighteenth-century French royal commissions. For Messagé it was not just a matter of producing decorative mounts; the piece was conceived as sculpture, bronze, timber and marquetry as one. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 173–6. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, pp. 71–95. Millet T. Millet founded the House of Millet in 1853 at 11 rue Jacques-Coeur, Paris. Millet produced fine quality meubles de luxe, specialising in meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et modern. The firm’s work covered a wide range of furniture during its long period of establishment, including authorised copies of eighteenth-century styles. The House of Millet won many medals, including the gold medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, a grand prize in 1900, as well as three Diplomes d’honneur and four gold medals. In 1902, Millet was authorised by the curator of the Palace of Versailles to replicate Queen Marie-Antoinette’s celebrated Grand cabinet a bijoux. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 484–6. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK) 2006, pp. 276, 317, 320. Morant George Morant (d. 1846) established the firm of Morant, Boyd & Morant in 1790 at 88 New Bond Street, London. It continued to flourish and expand throughout the nineteenth century. By 1852 the firm was known as Morant & Boyd and had premises at 91 New Bond Street but moved again by 1858 to 81 New Bond Street. The firm produced exceptional exhibitionquality furniture and participated at many of the international exhibitions of the period, including the 1851 Great Exhibition in London and the 1853 New York World Fair. Amongst Morant’s clients were members of
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the Royal Family, the Marquess of Londonderry at Wynward Park, Durham, and the Duke of Sutherland at Stafford House, London (now Lancaster House). Bibliography Beard, Geoffrey and Christopher Gilbert (eds.), Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660–1840, Furniture History Society (London), 1986, pp. 622–3. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), pp. 29, 77, 120. Maison Mottheau et Fils Maison Mottheau et Fils frequently worked in collaboration with sculptors such as FrédéricEugène Piat (d. 1903) producing a wide selection of chandeliers, wall lights, candelabra and free-standing torchères, and were renowned for their skill in combining function with elaborate decoration. The introduction of electricity as a means of domestic lighting during the 1890s allowed firms such as Mottheau, whose speciality was lighting fixtures, to take full advantage of the new technology, incorporating it with their decorative designs. Commenting on the introduction of electricity, The Art Journal wrote of Mottheau’s display at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle: The French Section shows many examples of fine work applied under the new conditions, but we doubt if a more complete success is to be recorded to the credit of any exhibitor than can be conceded to Messieurs Mottheau et fils. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 290, 318 pl. J72. ‘The Paris Exhibition 1900: An Illustrated Record of its Art, Architecture and Industry’, The Art Journal (London) 1900, pp. 86–7. Perry & Co. William Perry is first recorded in partnership with William Collins at 227 The Strand, London, then from 1803 he joined William Parker as Parker and Perry. William Parker was the leading chandelier maker of the late eighteenth century, supplying fashionable households and royalty as far afield as the emperor of China. Between 1783 and 1786 alone, Parker had supplied chandeliers costing over £2,500 to the Prince of Wales for his London residence, Carlton House. Parker and Perry were commissioned for a fifty-six light chandelier for the Crimson Drawing Room in Carlton House at a cost of over £1,000. It was completed in 1808 and was 14 feet high and 6 feet 6 inches in diameter. William Pyne, whose great work on the royal palaces was published in 1819, considered this chandelier to be one of the finest in Europe. Many of Parker and Perry’s chandeliers were removed at the dismantling of Carlton House, and placed in Buckingham
Palace where they remain today. In 1817 William Perry went on to establish himself independently at 72 New Bond Street as ‘Glass Manufacturer to the Prince Regent’ (possibly wresting the appointment from Parker), and was joined in 1822 by his nephew. The company became Perry & Co in 1833. It was to become one of the most prolific manufacturers of its time. Perry & Co. supplied the nine ‘inverted parasol’ chandeliers in the Music Room of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, for the Prince Regent, at a cost of £4,290.12s. On the sale of the Royal Pavilion to the commissioners of Brighton in 1850, the chandeliers were removed and taken to London. All but four, which remain in Buckingham Palace, were returned to the Pavilion in 1864. Perry & Co produced a range of light fittings all using the highest quality English cut-glass drops. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds a book of sketches of ‘classic’ Perry chandeliers from the 1860s and 1870s, which are frequently annotated with the date of the order, and the names of those who had ordered them. Bibliography Mortimer, Martin, The English Glass Chandelier, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2000, p. 19. Parrott Bacot, H, Nineteenth-Century Lighting, Schiffer Publishing (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), 1987. Henri Picard The important fondeur and doreur Henri Picard was based in Paris at 6, rue Jarente from 1831 to 1839, before moving to 10, rue de la Perle. The firm was active until around 1890. Celebrated for the high quality of his production, Henri Picard supplied many important patrons, including garnitures and table pieces for the petits appartements of Emperor Napoleon III at the Louvre. An important pair of twelve-light candelabra by Picard remain in the Musée du Louvre today. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, p 32. Henri Honoré Plé Henri Honoré Plé (1853–1922) studied under Gérault and Mathurin Moreau, and worked as a painter and sculptor of portraits and basreliefs. He exhibited at the Salon from 1877 onwards winning an honourable mention in 1879 before going on to receive a bronze medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Bibliography Forrest, M, Art Bronzes, Schiffer Publishing (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), 1998. Lucille Sévin Lucille Sévin was a very accomplished sculptor particularly known for her fine bronze figures and relief plaques. Actively
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Adrian Alan working from 1920–1940 she exhibited in Paris at the Salon des Artistes Français, winning a bronze medal in 1932, a silver medal in 1937 and a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle in the same year. As well as sculpting exceptional bronze and ivory figures Lucille Sévin also designed a number of opaline glass sculptures of dancers, which were made by the Choisy-Le-Roi glass works. The figures often depicted famous celebrities of the day, such as the dancer Isadora Duncan. Inspired by the Ballet Russe and the exotic dancers from around the world that were drawn to Paris, with its ardour for jazz and hedonistic distraction, dancers were particularly popular subjects in the Art Deco period. Bibliography Catley, Bryan, Art Deco and Other Figures, Antique Collectors’ Club, (Woodbridge, UK), 1984, p. 293. Arwas, Victor, Art Deco, Academy Editions (London), 1980, p. 250. Sèvres The Sèvres Porcelain manufactory was founded to the east of Paris in the disused royal château of Vincennes, late in 1739–40. It was not until 1756 that it moved to the village of Sèvres, west of Paris, strategically placed en route to King Louis XV’s palace at Versailles. Here it was also adjacent to Louis’ mistress Madame de Pompadour’s own château at Bellevue. A great lover of Sèvres porcelain, she was delighted with the factory’s new location, as she knew she could entice Louis to take a greater interest in it when it was so near to their own residences. Indeed, the king became such a keen patron of the factory that when it ran into financial difficulties, he bought out the shareholders and became the sole proprietor. The factory remained a royal enterprise until the French Revolution, when it was nationalised. Important designers and influential artistic directors have always been at the forefront of Sevres’s innovation. Famous artists who designed for the factory include Louis-Simon Boizot, Théophile Fragonard, Hector Guimard, Serge Poliakoff, Auguste Rodin and Louise Bourgeois. One of the most influential artists was Albert- Ernest Carrier-Belleuse who became artistic director in 1876 and was famed for his designs. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Paredes, Liana, Sèvres Then and Now: Tradition and Innovation in Porcelain, 1750–2000, D Giles Ltd (London), 2009. Savill, Rosalind, The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, 3 Volumes, Paul Holberton (London), 1988. Sormani Born in Venice in 1817, Paul Sormani was a Paris-based maker of fine meubles de luxe, whose work was described in the 1867
Exposition Universelle catalogue as: ‘toute sa production révèle une qualité d’exécution de tout premier ordre’ (‘all of his production reveals a quality of execution all of the first order’). Sormani exhibited at the International Exhibitions in Paris in 1849, 1855, 1867, 1878 and 1900, and in London in 1862, winning numerous medals. In 1867 he set up his workshop at 10 rue de Charlot, Paris. After Sormani’s death in 1877 his son PaulCharles took over the business that later moved to 134 boulevard Haussmann. The Sormani stamp is usually an engraved signature on the lock plate, incorporating the address. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 583–8. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur, 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Wandenberg Wandenberg was an important Parisian gilder and frame maker based at 42 rue Veuve St Augustin. Establishing his company in 1830, Wandenberg was succeeded by his sons in the last quarter of the century, who relocated the business to 10 et 12 Place Delaborde. They were known for their elaborate gilding and worked for many of the leading ébénistes of the period. In addition, a number of frames to pictures by important artists such as Edouard Monet bear their label to the reverse. Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen (1812–1871) was established at 23 Val-Sainte-Catherine, Paris from 1854 until his death in 1871. As a result of his comparatively short career very little of his work is available today. All recorded items by this maker are of the very highest quality, especially the impressive bronze work. Jean-Louis-Benjamin Gros was his main furniture maker and Joseph-Nicolas Langlois his ciseleur. Although he worked for only a few short years, he was responsible for a number of remarkable copies of eighteenthcentury royal pieces which he produced for favoured clients, including Prince Radziwill and the Marquis de Lillers. Henry Dasson took over the Winckelsen workshops in July 1871.
produced the very finest furniture, often inspired by public collections in France. He employed as his sculptor Leon Messagé, the genius Parisian sculptor. Zwiener’s pieces were acquired by many of the leading collectors of the nineteenth century. In particular he supplied his interpretation of the famous Bureau de Roi to Ludwig II at Herrenchiemsee, which was placed in the king’s study in 1884. Zwiener exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, where he was awarded a gold medal, for a stand that included an exceptional cabinet designed by Messagé. In 1898, Zwiener received an extensive royal commission from the King of Prussia, and was recalled to Berlin because the king would not order furniture from overseas makers when furnishing his palaces, preferring to order work only from native Germans. The Berlin sculptor Otto Rohloff, whose bronze work is very similar to that of Messagé, may well have been hired by Zwiener for this royal commission. In 1895 his Paris workshop was taken over by the important émigré and ébéniste François Linke. Christopher Payne, in his book on Linke, speculates that Linke may have worked for Zwiener when he first arrived in Paris in 1875. Linke is known to have also taken on Zwiener’s sculptor Leon Messagé. For this reason, many of Zwiener’s pieces have often been mistakenly attributed to Linke. In order to differentiate between Messagés commissions, the gilt-bronze mounts were often marked to the reverse with the maker’s initials. Several of Zwiener’s mounts have been found to have a ‘Z’, ‘Zw’, an ‘IZ’, ‘NZ’, ‘ZN’ or ‘ZJ’ on the reverse. This was primarily for the purpose of differentiation, rather than an artist’s signature. Some of Zwiener’s work was stamped but not exclusively, and only a few pieces have been found with a full signature and /or date. It can be speculated that Zwiener continued to work in Germany after giving up his Paris workshop in 1895, as in 1900 he participated in the German section of the Paris Exhibition, where he exhibited the famous bedroom suite made for the Kaiser. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 301–9. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003.
Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 635–8. Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener was an important Paris cabinetmaker of German extraction who was born in Silesia around 1848. He
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Appendix B Background for Le Grand Bureau – Also see Artist biographies in Appendix A François Linke – His Influences and the Great Exhibitions of the Nineteenth Century François Linke’s early workbook records that he was in Vienna from July 1872 to October 1873. He would surely have visited the 1873 International Exhibition held there and as a young man of eighteen seen the possibilities for making furniture of true quality, a dream that he so effectively put into reality by his mid-40s. He arrived in Paris in 1875, so in 1878 would have witnessed the third great International Exhibition to take place in Paris, a remarkable success for a country ravaged by war only seven years earlier. By 1889 another World’s Fair, as they were often referred to in America, took place in Paris. Monsieur Eiffel erected for the exhibition what has become the most iconic building in Paris, and the atmosphere of wealth and confidence may well have encouraged Linke to think that he could contribute an important part to the next great exhibition. As early as 1892 this was decreed to take place at the end of the century, in an attempt to pre-empt Berlin from staging the last great show of the nineteenth century. In 1892, Victor Champier one of the commissioners for the 1900 Paris Fair had appealed, ‘Create in the manner of the masters, do not copy what they have made’. It was an appeal against mere reproduction and Linke rose to this challenge in an unparalleled way with his unique display that was to include the Grand Bureau. Determined to outshine the competition at the exhibition, Linke had set about creating the most ambitious pieces he could envisage, furniture more extravagant than had ever been displayed before. The items he exhibited marked a transition from the historicist interpretation of Louis XV and Louis XVI styles (an interpretation that was the mainstay of his nearest rivals), to something startlingly new and vital in its immediacy. Together with Léon Messagé he developed a new style for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, one that paid homage to the Louis XV rococo in the fluidity of its approach, but an approach fused with the lively flowing lines of the contemporary and progressive art nouveau. The Art Journal reported in 1900 on Linke’s stand: The work of M. Linke ... was an example of what can be done by seeking inspiration amongst the classic examples of Louis XV and XVI without in any great sense copying these great works. M. Linke’s work was original in the true sense of the word, and as such commended itself to the intelligent seeker after the really artistic things of the Exhibition. Wonderful talent was employed in producing the magnificent pieces of furniture displayed....1 Linke’s stand would have appeared refreshingly new to contemporary onlookers, the traditional designs of the eighteenth century melting seamlessly into an exuberant
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naturalism. The Revue described Linke’s style as ‘entièrement nouveaux’ and noted: ‘this opinion is universally accepted. Linke’s stand is the biggest show in the history of art furniture in the year 1900.’ 2 The most extraordinary and remarkable aspect of Linke’s personal history is that he produced such expensive and luxurious furniture of exquisite quality for the 1900 exhibition without any commission or any potential buyer in mind. At a time when other more established furniture businesses such as those of Beurdeley and Dasson were closing down, he made a huge investment in his stand and the furniture he supplied for it. Linke recognised that to move his business forward he needed to appeal to a more international clientele and the new emerging rich who were at this time amassing fortunes on an unprecedented scale. For this reason he gambled everything he had on his display for the 1900 exhibition. Had this not succeeded he would almost certainly have succumbed to bankruptcy. In this sense he was the greatest furniture entrepreneur of the belle époque and perhaps of any time. Linke’s notebook records visitors to his stand from England, Europe, the Americas, Egypt and Japan. These included the King of Sweden, three visits from the King of Belgium, Prince Radziwill, the Prince d’Arenberg, the Comte Alberic du Chastel, Miss Anna May Gould (the American heiress), distinguished furniture makers and the president of France, Emile Loubert. This risky endeavour was a resounding success, and with his reputation established La Maison Linke became the pre-eminent furniture house until the outset of the Second World War. The technical brilliance of his work and the artistic change that it represented was never to be repeated. His showrooms expanded into prestigious premises in Paris, in the Place Vendôme as well as the Faubourg St. Antoine where his workshop had been established. He embarked on many important commissions in the years up to the outbreak of the First World War, making and designing furniture for leading international industrialists and bankers. He is reputed to have also supplied furniture to the Kaiser. After the 1914–1918 World War, Linke undertook the extraordinary commission to furnish the Ras al-Tin Palace in Alexandria for King Fuad of Egypt, possibly the largest single furniture commission ever conceived, eclipsing even Versailles. Linke flourished and remained active until the middle years of the 1930s and died in 1946. François Linke – The Influence of Léon Messagé The most notable and revolutionary aspect of Linke’s furniture is its sculptural quality. This is especially true of the furniture made for the 1900 exhibition. The Grand Bureau, in true rococo tradition, does not follow the rules of symmetry. The figures do not reflect each other, even the symbols of Peace, the helmets surmounting the cartonniers are not produced from the same cast. Not only does this add to the cost and the feeling of true luxury, it creates a truly three-dimensional object: a
piece of furniture that has a profound monumental sculptural quality. A quality that can be appreciated as you walk around the piece, each angle presents a different nuance, each figure or scroll works in a different way and leads you on to the next. It was Léon Messagé who brought this quality to Linke’s furniture. As a sculptor he was trained to produce a wax maquette or model prior to working on a piece. It is especially interesting that his maquettes were of the piece of furniture in its entirety, a rare and exacting task occasionally seen for eighteenth-century French Royal commissions. It was not just a question of producing decorative mounts; the piece was conceived as one – the sculpture, bronze, timber and marquetry as a combined piece. It is this approach that gives the Grand Bureau and the other 1900 pieces their unique sculptural qualities. Many of the most important maquettes are preserved today in the Linke archive, including the one for the Grand Bureau. Messagé died the year after the 1900 exhibition – making the Grand Bureau his last great work. The Paris Exposition Universelle 1900 The 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle can be considered one of the greatest ever held. President Loubert’s words on the opening day, 14 April 1900, must have sounded a note of optimism to all the exhibitors: Let this exhibition be an exhibition of harmony, of peace and of progress and if some of the decoration maybe ephemeral, let not its substance be in vain. Paris was transformed. National pavilions lined the Seine. The Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, both in use today, were constructed. The city was bathed in electric illuminations by night and thronged with people by day. Some 50,860,801 people are recorded to have visited the exhibition. Linke’s stand was one of the most impressive, and most praised, standing between the displays of the glass and furniture maker Gallé of Nancy and Schmit of Paris. Notes 1 ‘The Paris Exhibition ‘, D. Croal Thomson (ed.), The Art Journal, 1901. 2 Revue Artistique & Industrielle, July–August 1900. Literature Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Éditions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 439–43. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 284–324. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003. Revue Artistique & Industrielle, July–August 1900. Croal Thomson, D. (ed.), ‘The Paris Exhibition 1900’, The Art Journal, 1901, p. 341.
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