A finely carved giltwood console or centre table with Brèche Violette marble top.
Paris, circa 1910–1920
This exceptional giltwood table is attributed to the celebrated Parisian ébéniste François Linke, and closely corresponds to the documented example illustrated in Christopher Payne, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, p. 213, plate 233 (index no. 2037).
The model, inspired by late Louis XVI prototypes, is distinguished by its intricate carved friezes of acanthus and ribbon-tied laurel, fluted legs bound with reeds and crossed ribbons, and a stretcher centred by a rosette medallion. The top is of Brèche Violette marble, a richly figured stone used by Linke for his most luxurious commissions.
Although unsigned, the present table corresponds in every detail to the Linke example exhibited at the 1911 Salon du Mobilier and described by Payne as one of a small group carved by Linke’s master carver Guérin between 1910 and 1933, including a commission for the King of Egypt.
Dimensions: 180cm long, 88cm deep & 80cm high.