Masterpieces Commodes Reproductions

A stunning French 19th century Louis XV Rococo style marquetry and Rocaille ormolu commode after the model by Francois Linke, the commode is raised on slender cabriole legs with pierced ormolu sabots and fabulous large chutes that rise up to very impressive foliate scrolled pierced ormolu mounts at each side, the two drawers inlaid with a central ribbon tied marquetry flower bouquet surrounded with a ravishing C scrolled foliate Rocaille and Rococo style frame crested with acanthus shell motif ormolu mount, the foliate handles ramified from the continuous frame, all above a scalloped bottom frieze decorated with sea shell and foliage on a waterfall amidst a continuing C scrolled foliate ormolu mounts, the frieze and legs are also trimmed with an ormolu filet, All below a serpentine shaped moulded eared marble top
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Ref#C-1818 | Description

A stunning French 19th century Louis XV Rococo style marquetry and Rocaille ormolu commode after the model by Francois Linke,

The commode is raised on slender cabriole legs with pierced ormolu sabots and fabulous large chutes that rise up to very impressive foliate scrolled pierced ormolu mounts at each side,

The two drawers inlaid with a central ribbon tied marquetry flower bouquet surrounded with a ravishing C scrolled foliate Rocaille and Rococo style frame crested with acanthus shell motif ormolu mount, the foliate handles ramified from the continuous frame, all above a scalloped bottom frieze decorated with sea shell and foliage on a waterfall amidst a continuing C scrolled foliate ormolu mounts. The frieze and legs are also trimmed with an ormolu filet. All below a serpentine shaped moulded eared marble top

Ref#C-1818

101x 78 x 42cm

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François Linke

Francois Linke (1855-1946) was arguably the leading Parisian cabinetmaker of the Belle Epoque the glittering age of fashionable French society, whose influence was felt throughout the world.

Determined to outshine the competition at the Exhibition, Linke had set about creating the most ambitious pieces he could envisage, and 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 Leon Message 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'.

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 Vendome 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.

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.

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