François Linke (1855-1946). - Lot 407

Lot n° 407
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Estimation :
4000 - 6000 EUR
François Linke (1855-1946). - Lot 407
François Linke (1855-1946). Meridienne in mahogany and mahogany veneer, the curved armrests with scrolls, the straight back with curved top. It rests on four tapered legs with foliate rings. Rich ornamentation in chased and gilded bronze on the corner falls with foliate scrolls, interlacing friezes on the belt and foliate clasps at the top of the back. Width: 166 cm - Depth: 76 cm. Provenance: Private collection of Mr. Juan Higinio Aztoreca (1840-1903), by descent. Formerly kept in his private mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine. An industrialist and entrepreneur of Spanish origin, Juan Higinio Aztoreca made his fortune in the exploitation of salt and sodium nitrate. He settled in Paris at the very beginning of the 20th century, in a private mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine, which he had entirely decorated and furnished, notably with furniture from the workshop of François Linke, a cabinetmaker in vogue since the 1900 Universal Exhibition. On his death, the mansion was sold, but the furniture remained in the family. Perhaps the finest cabinetmaker and bronzemaker of the late 19th century, François Linke produced, in collaboration with sculptor Léon Messagé, furniture of the highest quality in his workshop at 170, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, and later, around 1902, he had a showroom at 26, Place Vendôme. In addition to furniture made in the original rocaille style mounted on gilded bronze, Linke also made copies of furniture in the Ancien Régime styles of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Although he set up his workshop in 1881, Linke first came to prominence at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, where he was awarded a gold medal. He became the most sought-after cabinetmaker of the early twentieth century, producing stylish furniture and exhibiting at numerous international shows, including those in Saint-Louis (1904), Liège (1905) and London (1908). Linke died in 1946, by which time the style with which he had made his name was no longer at the forefront of fashion, but the workshops continued on a very small scale for some time.
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