Ruzhnikov - Furniture for Kings by Blayney Partnership

Ruzhnikov Fine art & antiques

Furniture for the Kings

Andre Ruzhnikov +44-7866-638-973 +1-917-244-3777 +7-905-715-5530 ruzhnikov.com info@ruzhnikov.com

1. ‘La Grande Bibliothèque’

2. Louis XVI Style Giltwood Centre Table

3. Napoléon III ‘Chambre À Coucher’

‘La Grande Bibliothèque’ •

A Highly Important Sculptural Vitrine Exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 Designed and made by François Linke and Léon Messagé Linke Index no: 556. Paris, Circa 1900.

Breathtaking in both scale and conception, this exceptional vitrine must rank as the chef d’oeuvre of its maker, and one of the most important pieces of furniture ever to be made. Standing at nearly four metres (149 inches) high with exceptional gilt-bronze figures cast in relief, it is as much an exercise in sculpture, as in cabinet making.

The cornice is centred by an near life-size figure of Minerva, holding a tablet bearing the motto ‘De Omni Re Scibili et Quis Busdam Aliis’, (Of all things that can be known and all other things), a fitting enlightenment call to take interest in every aspect of knowledge, be it art or science.1

Continuing this theme, the figure is flanked by remarkably animated allegories of Geography and Architecture while two enormous espagnolettes representing Art and Literature, frame the central doors, one with an artist’s palette, the other composing poetry. At the base of the central section, the figure of Triton, ‘le Monst l’ignorance’ (sic) as Linke described it, is depicted in Greek form, with two tails. This expressive figure lies beneath a naturalistic tree of life, its trunk extending between the central doors and rising to the progressive heights of the cresting.

The retail price of the ‘La Grande Bibliothèque’ at the 1900 exhibition was 250,000 old French Francs.

‘La Grande Bibliothèque’ dominated Linke’s 1900 exhibition stand and enthralled members of the public and the jury alike. Determined to outshine the competition at the exhibition Linke had set about creating the most ambitious pieces he could envisage, 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 main-stay 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 Exhibition 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....».2

Linke’s stand would have appeared refreshingly new to contemporary onlookers, the traditional designs of the Eighteenth Century melting seamlessly into an exuberant 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’.3 The formation of Linke’s distinctive style was made possible by his collaboration with Léon Messagé. The furniture Messagé designed for Linke’s 1900 exhibition stand, with its exuberant allegorical figures cast in high relief recalling the sensual paintings of Boucher and Falconet, exemplified his ability to seamlessly merge the different media of wood carving, bronze and marquetry into a dynamic unified whole.

Sketch to work up the design for the three complex engraved lockplates on the ‘Grande Bibliothèque’. Each lock tongue has been given a shaped outline to conform with the priciples of rococo design.

After initial sketches, Messagé would produce a three-dimensional wax maquette, which would then be interpreted into a full-scale wooden model by Linke’s craftsmen. At this stage the costly mounts would be modelled in wax and once approved made up to be cast in bronze. Messagé’s original sketches for ‘La Grande Bibliothèque’ survive in the Linke Archive along with the scale wax model standing almost 74 cm (30 inches) high.4

The original full-scale charcoal drawing for the ‘Grande Bibliothèque’.

François Linke (1855-1946)

Linke was born on 17th June 1855 in the small village of Pankraz, in what is now the Czech Republic. Records show that Linke served an apprenticeship with the master cabinet maker, Neumann, which he completed in 1877. Linke’s work book or Arbeits-Buch records that he was in Vienna from July 1872 to October 1873. He would surely have visited the International Exhibition held there in 1873 and as a young man of eighteen saw the possibilities of making furniture of quality, a dream that he so effectively put into reality by his mid-40’s. He finally arrived in Paris in 1875, reputedly on Christmas Day. It is likely but not certain that he obtained work with the great German cabinet maker Emmanuel Zwiener, whose innovative design he was undoubtedly greatly influenced by. In 1878 he 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. It is known that the fledgling Linke workshops were active in the Faubourg St. Antoine as early as 1881, during this time he supplied furniture for other more established makers such as Jansen and Krieger. By 1889 another World’s Fair, as they were often referred to in America, took place in Paris. Monsieur Eiffel erected what has become the most iconic building in Paris for the exhibition 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 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. The pride of which was the Grand Bibliothèque. 15

Perhaps 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 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 1930’s and died in 1946.

Messagé scale wax model for the ‘Grande Bibliothèque’. 18

Léon Messagé (1842-1901)

Sketches by Messagé showing how he arrived at the final concept of the boy wrestling with a dragon for the key bow.

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 Bibliothèque in true Rococo tradition does not follow the rules of symmetry. The figures do not reflect each other and each of the bronze mounts is unique and individually sculpted. Not only does this add to the cost and the feeling of true luxury, it creates a three dimensional object; a piece of furniture that has a profound monumental sculptural quality. This exceptional quality 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. A gifted sculptor, Messagé was responsible for much of the design and creative work for Roux et Brunet of Paris, of whom one brother, Alexandre Roux, had established a highly successful business in New York as early as 1836. Subsequently Messagé designed for Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener in the 1880’s. Messagé enjoyed success as a designer/sculptor before his collaboration with Linke. Indeed he was mentioned as a gold medal winner at the 1889 exhibition and especially praised for his work on a cabinet by Zwiener. He was primarily influenced by rococo ornament but he strove to reinterpret it. He did not produce slavish copies and his original approach can be appreciated in the Grand Bibliothèque. A number of drawings by Messagé are recorded and in 1890 after his success at the exhibition of 1889 he was encouraged to publish his designs, which appeared as ‘Cahier des Dessins & Croquis Style Louis XV’.5 He came into contact with Linke in 1885; it appears from then on Linke employed him on a regular basis. 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. It was not just a question of producing decorative mounts; the piece was conceived as sculpture, bronze, timber and marquetry as one. It is this approach that gives the Bibliothèque and the other 1900 pieces their unique sculptural qualities. Messagé died the year after the 1900 Exhibition making La Grand Bibliothèque one of the last great works of his life and a fitting epitaph.

Exposition Universelle Paris 1900 The International Exhibition which took place in Paris in 1900 can be considered one of the greatest ever mounted. President Loubert’s words on the opening day, 14th 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. 50,860,801 people are recorded to have visited the exhibition. Linke’s stand was one of the most impressive, standing between the displays of the glass and furniture maker Gallé of Nancy and Schmit of Paris.

Photographs of Linke’s 1900 stand.

Dimensions:

Height 377 cm Width 325 cm Depth 84 cm

148 inches 128 inches 33 inches

ADDITIONAL CONTEMPORARY PRESS: The Gazette du Mobilier started its three page spread in 1900 on Linke with the words: ‘Retenez-bien ce nom …’

Notes: 1. De omni re scibilli (of all things that can be known) was the motto of the Italian Philosopher Pico Della Mirandola. Et quibusdam aliis (and all kind of other things) was ironically appended by Voltaire.

A.Dubois in September 1900 in the Revue Artistique & Industrielle calls the four principal pieces on Linkes Stand: le clou de l’exposition des arts industriels

2. The Paris Exhibition’, Art Journal 1900.

Dubois goes further in valuing the pieces at over half a million francs and hoping that Linke will find a Frenchman rich enough, and enough of a connoisseur, to keep the pieces in France.

4. Illus. Christopher Payne, François Linke 1855-1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collector’s Club, 2003: pl. 76 -78, 113. Messagé’s widow ceded all extant drawings to Linke on her husbands’ death in 1901.

G.Levraux in Le Moniteur of 1900, wrote of Linkes Stand: ‘These are museum objects …’

3. Revue Artistique & Industrielle’, July-August 1900.

5. Messagé published one collection of his designs early in his career and prior to working for Linke. ‘Croquis & Dessins, Style Louis XV, Bronzes, Orfevrerie, Decoration, Meubles, was first published by the sculptor himself, from his Paris address of 40, rue Sedaine (undated). There were 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 feature he used many times on the handles of furniture designed for Linke, and in particular on the lock escutcheon of the Grand Bibliotheque.

A Unique Monumental Louis XVI Style Giltwood Centre Table with a Brèche Violette Marble Top

• By François Linke

Giltwood furniture by Linke is not only rare, but can be difficult to identify as it tends to be unmarked. This table can however be confidently attributed to Linke, as an early black and white photograph of the piece, Linke index no. 2575, survives in the Linke Archive (see page 428 pl. 501, in Christopher Payne: FranĂ§ois Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Ă&#x2030;poque of French Furniture). The only one of its kind known to have been produced, it was carved for Linke in May 1914 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, but unfortunately died before the project could be completed. French, Circa 1914.

Don Antonio Devoto, Italian by birth was one of the most prominent members of the Argentinian elite during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His immense wealth enabled him to become one of Linke’s most important clients. With interests in banking and land he devoted much of his later life to charitable causes and was created a Count by the King of Italy for his assistance during the 1st World War. His vast home the ‘Palacio Devoto’ was built by the architect Juan Buschiazzo with furnishings and woodwork by Linke, including many of the pieces that Linke had exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. Provenance: Antonio Devoto Private Collection, Argentina Collection of Mrs. Barbara Woodard Lips, San Antonio,Texas Mayo Foundation, Hendershott Collection

He had wanted to establish his own private museum of Linke furniture at his Buenos Aries home, but unfortunately died before the project could be completed, although not before he had assembled one of the most diverse and important collections of Linke’s work. Following his sudden death in 1916 his wife continued to patronise Linke and to build the collection, determined to complete her husband’s vision. Statue of Antonio Devoto, in the Plaza Arenales, Buenos Aires

Relief of Antonio Devoto, in the minor Basilica of San Antonio de Padua, Buenos Aires 28

François Linke

Cliché of index no. 2575 in the Linke Archive 29

Dimensions: Height 88 cm 35 inches Width 253 cm 100 inches Depth 145 cm 57 inches

A Remarkable and Highly Important

Napoléon III ‘Chambre À Coucher’ • By Maison Grimard

A Remarkable and Highly Important Napoléon III ‘Chambre À Coucher’, By Maison Grimard. Comprising of a Gilt-Bronze and Paris Porcelain Mounted Armoire, a Bed and Two Bedside Cabinets with Marble Tops. This very rare Napoleon III bedroom suite, by the important ébéniste de luxe G. Grimard, d a t e s f r om 18 8 7 a nd is of exceptional exhibition quality. It is mounted with large and very fine Paris porcelain panels depicting putti at play within pastoral surroundings and set within finely cast gilt-bronze bronze mounts. The gilt-bronze mounted parcel gilt and Paris porcelain bed is surmounted at both ends by urn finials. The headboard, base and sides are mounted with extremely fine bronze borders containing painted porcelain panels depicting putti at play. The gilt-bronze mounted parcel gilt and Paris porcelain mounted armoire is surmounted by four neo-classical finial urns. French, Dated 1887.

The breakfront pediment has panels depicting playing putti and the front is centred by a bevelled mirrored cupboard door. The interior is fitted for adjustable shelves and is flanked to each side by a smaller similar door and interior. These are flanked on either side by a fluted column with a Corinthian capital, above a breakfront plinth with panels depicting ribbontied flower garlands and musical instruments. The armoire stands on gadrooned feet.

The Pair of gilt-bronze mounted parcel gilt and Paris porcelain bedside cabinets have rose de Campan marble tops. The drawers and cupboards also have extremely fine bronze borders containing porcelain panels depicting playing putti.

Maison Grimard This fine bedroom suite bears a remarkable original paper label for G. Grimard behind the central porcelain plaque to the footboard of the bed. The label is further inscribed in pencil with the date ‘1887’. G. Grimard is recorded to have produced fine ‘Meubles d’Art’, from premises at 5 rue de Charonne, Paris, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Grimard exhibited at many of the major international exhibitions of the period with great distinction. His work is comparatively rare but always of the very highest quality. Much of his recorded work is in the Louis XVI and neoclassical style often incorporating vernis martin panels or porcelain plaques.

Paris Porcelain The fashion for porcelain, mounted onto exquisite furniture pieces, was brought to the novelty seeking Parisian connoisseurs by ébénistes working for the principal marchand merciers around 1760. The original pioneer was Simon-Philippe Poirier, the celebrated marchand mercier, working chiefly with the ébéniste Martin Carlin, and who ordered his first plaques in 1758. These items were rare and sought after even at the time of their production, and most examples now reside in museum collections. The Nineteenth Century saw a revival for this fashion for porcelain-mounted furniture, especially amongst the English aristocracy (typifying their fascination with ‘ancien regime’ opulence). Eighteenth Century plaques were often available to buy in the Nineteenth Century and many dealers would buy them and either alter existing pieces or make new ones to receive the plaques. The best known of these dealers were Edward Holmes Baldock, Nicolas Morel and Tatham in England, and in France, A.L. Bellanger, Vaché and Jules Piret.

The importance of the Parisian porcelain industry stretches back to the time when under the reign of Louis XIV, all silverware in France was melted into coins, and as a result all dishes needed to be replaced by a different material. This brought about an immediate demand for porcelain from China (the sole supplier of porcelain since Vasco De Gama brought the first porcelain objects back to Europe during the 15th century). This was a very expensive commodity, and as such the need to create local porcelain was paramount, and once it was made possible a thriving local industry built up. The area around the ‘rue de Paradis’ has been Paris’s showcase of porcelain and crystal since the Restoration, when the Comte d’Artois, later to become Charles X, and his son, the Duc d’Angoulême the last Dauphin of France, were the first to set up porcelain workshops here, soon to be followed by many others. Amongst the famous artists who at some time worked in the Parisian porcelain industry was Pierre Auguste Renoir who was apprenticed as a painter to a Paris porcelain-maker between 1854-1858.

Dimensions

Armoire: Height

251 cm / 99 inches

Width Depth

231 cm / 91 inches 63 cm / 25 inches

Side cabinets: Height 82 cm / 32.5 inches Width 41 cm / 16 inches Depth 41 cm / 16 inches

Bed: Height Width Length

167 cm / 66 inches 183 cm / 72 inches 213 cm / 84 inches