A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD VITRINE TABLE

With its delicate cabriole legs and finely chased mounts, this exquisite vitrine table is a wonderful example of Linke's aesthetic vision. The fluidity of the piece recalls the Louis XV rococo and yet the celebrated ebéniste retained the progressive liveliness of art nouveau design so fashionable in Paris at this date. Linke produced a number of these charming display tables in 75 cm. and 100 cm. widths, the first of which was produced in the early 1890s and the last for the English retailer of Maple in 1919. (C. Payne, European Furniture of the 19th Century, Woodbridge, 2013, p. 247). The present lot follows the design of Linke’s index number 131, and relates closely to a version with mounts designed by the sculptor Léon Messagé (C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 247). However, here Messagé’s distinctive shell to the centre of the frieze is supplement by a mask escutcheon, seemingly symbolic of autumn, that is more redolent of Messagé’s mounts for a gaine designed for Linke’s gold-medal winning stand at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. It is notable that the piece retains its original key.