A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD AND TULIPWOOD MARQUETRY CONSOLE

Combining the cabinetmaking excellence of Emmanuel Zwiener with the inspirational designs and sculptural brilliance of Léon Messagé, this highly expressive console celebrates the Neo-rococo style championed by the ébéniste at the height of the Belle Epoque.
Zwiener’s Paris-based atelier executed elegant pieces of furniture replicating royal models from the Garde-Meuble National of France, most notably the celebrated bureau de Roi by Jean-Henri Riesener and Jean-François Oeben. His own creations varied a dynamic interpretation of the French Rococo style, Zwiener's furniture is, as seen here, often inlaid with the finest marquetry and ambitiously-modeled ormolu mounts.
The 1889 Exposition Universelle witnessed the zenith of Zwiener’s career as he was awarded the coveted medaille d’or for his undulating vernis Martin-decorated serre-bijoux, which subsequently entered the collection of Empress Maria Feodorovna at Gatchina prior to its sale at Christie’s, London, 17 March 2011, lot 409 (£623,650). His frequent collaborator, Léon Messagé, was equally lauded for the design and application of the ormolu mounts, which celebrated the asymmetry of rocaille popularized in the 1720s by the great eighteenth-century Parisian designer J.-A. Meissonnier.