Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 46TP
A French late 19th/early 20th century ormolu mounted kingwood and mahogany serpentine pedestal by Francois Linke (1855-1946)
23 June 2021, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£9,000 - £14,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Home and Interiors specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A French late 19th/early 20th century ormolu mounted kingwood and mahogany serpentine pedestal by Francois Linke (1855-1946)
Of slightly bombe form, with scrolled acanthus, floral and C-scroll mounts, the shaped eared marble top with a moulded edge above a shaped quarter veneered panelled door, enclosing two shelves, flanked by scrolled rocaille cast male and female espagnolette mounts, over foliate chutes, with conforming sides, the apron mounted with a central scallop shell, the door inset with a brass plaque signed: 'F. LINKE, PARIS', 48cm wide x 39cm deep x 138cm high, (18 1/2in wide x 15in deep x 54in high)
Footnotes
Previous research undertaken by Christopher Payne has shown that the present lot was listed by Linke as register number 184, 'grande gaine LXV à 4 faces bois de violette', and priced at 1,650 French francs. Consequently this pedestal was a relatively early one in Linke's output and it is rare to see the script-inset signature plaque on the top of the door which had always previously been assumed to date from the 1910 period or later. The first readable date accompanying the pencil sketch in Linke's pocket book is for April 1895, but the register number alone suggests that it was first conceived in the 1880s.
Later versions appear to have been made without a door. However the design was evidently superseded by another produced as register number 1422, listed in the price list of 1901 as a gaine vitrine Louis XV, with a glazed door and sides. Made between 1907 and 1922, the retail price of this vitrine version was 2,000 French francs in 1901 but had risen sharply to 16,400 by the 1926 revision. It is known that a Mr. Le Brun ordered one such pedestal in 1908.
One from a set of four further variants, all glazed examples, is illustrated in C. Payne, Francois Linke 1855-1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, 2003, Woodbridge, pl. 273, p. 257. These closely related models, conforming to index number 512, are housed in the Vimanmek Mansion in Bangkok and it is interesting that Payne notes the fact that such pedestals were also available with marquetry panel sides.
