A FRENCH ORMOLU AND JAPANESE LACQUER-MOUNTED KINGWOOD ARMOIRE

Much like his contemporaries, François Linke’s early career as a burgeoning ébéniste was spent creating faithful reproductions of royal 18th century furnishings, including works by André-Charles Boulle. In 1894, Linke purchased ten lots of modèles bronzes from Henry Dasson’s atelier sale following the prolific cabinetmaker’s death. Among the patterns were designs for an armoire originally conceived by Boulle in 1710 and subsequently transferred to Musée du Louvre in 1870. The present armoire relates to Linke’s index number 609 of slightly different proportion. Christopher Payne cites the model could be fitted with either coromandel lacquer panels (illustrated C. Payne, François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 198, pl. 214) or with grill doors to serve as a bibliothèque.