Belle Époque Vitrines

An Exquisite and Fantastic Quality Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Louis XVI Style Parquetry Vitrine Cabinet By François Linke François Linke – Index no. 149 The spreading ce...

Showcase cabinet for shop or collector with four levels of shelves, made of brass and glass at the beginning of the 20th century. The base is in walnut with mahogany patina.

Belle Epoque Louis XVI style gilt wood vitrine, circa 1890s, with shaped rectangular top centering a floral cartouche, the glazed door and sides flanked by ribbon-tied fluted colonne...

A Wonderful Late 19th Century Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Vitrine by Joseph Zwiener Joseph Zwiener The serpentine-shaped brèche d’ alep marble top above a single centered glass door, flanked to each side by a conforming panel, the mirrored interior fitted with three adjustable glass shelves, the canted angles set with pierced foliate-cast clasps, above a bombé shaped apron, on cabriole legs with scrolled-acanthus sabots. The quality of the cabinetry and solid wood frame, along with the quality and design of the mounts, is characteristic of Zwiener’s oeuvre. Similar flower-filled cornucopia chutes can be found on other Zwiener models. Born in Herdon, Germany, in 1849, Joseph Emmanuel Zwiener followed the tradition of some of the best ébnistes of the nineteenth century. He moved to Paris establishing a workshop at 12, rue de la Roquette, between 1880 and 1895. He produced a wide array of the very finest furniture, modelling in his own interpretations of the eighteenth century Louis XV Rococo style, veneered with the highest and finest quality marquetry and ‘Vernis Martin’ panels. Exhibiting at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, in 1889, Zwiener was awarded a gold medal for what the jury reported as ‘dè ses dèbuts à une Exposition Universelle, [il] s’est mi au premier rang par la richesse, la hardinesse, et le fini de ses meubles incrustés de bronze et fort habilment marquetés.’ Zwiener was closely associated with François Linke, and the two houses produced work which, at first glance, is remarkably similar and with occasionally identical mounts. The similarities are made more likely by the fact that the brilliant sculptor, Léon Messagé, worked initially for Zwiener and subsequently, upon Zwiener’s departure for Berlin to work on furniture commissioned by Freidrich Wilhelm II , he was employed in the workshop of François Linke. It appears that Zwiener, unlike Linke, did not sign all his work, although some stamped pieces with his name and/or his “Z” initial are documented. There is some uncertainty between the recorded stamp E. Zwiener and the work of a Julius Zwiener...

A fine 19th c French ebonized and finely cast gilt bronze mounted viewing cabinet by Grohe Paris. Lined in a rich gold stiped silk.

French Ormolu and Vernis Martin Vitrine, French, late 19th or early 20th century. An exceptional quality vitrine, in the Louis XVI-style with jewel quality ormolu bronze mounts wit...

An Exceptional Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Louis XV Style Kingwood and End Cut Foliate Marquetry Vitrine Table by François Linke François Linke – Index Number 168 Slightly bombe serpentine outline, the hinged top with a beveled glass top lifting to reveal a red felt lined interior, the conforming marquetry waved frieze inlaid with floral budding foliage, centered to the front and back with a stylized ‘crab’ acanthus escutcheon, the sides with ribbon-tied laurel mounts, standing on cabriole legs headed by foliate clasps running to scrolled acanthus sabots. Inscribed F. Linke to the top right rim. The same model table is pictured on page 165 in “François Linke 1855-1946 The Belle Epoque of French Furniture” By Christopher Payne. Featuring Linke’s signature ‘crab’ clasp, index number 168 was simultaneously produced both as a vitrine-table or bijoutière and a center-table. Each variation was also available with either chutes ‘à fleurs’ to the angles, as in the present example, or with chutes ‘à caryatides’. The low number of 168 itself is an indication that it is a very early model from Linke’s stable. Linke was born in Pankraz in Bohemia and was celebrated by the French as one of the greatest ébénistes of meubles de style at the turn of the century. He began his apprenticeship with a Bohemian master at the age of thirteen. Four years later, he toured Austria, settling and working in Vienna for two years. Linke arrived in Paris in 1875, and by 1881 he had established his own small workshop at 170 rue du Faubourg St. Antoine. Taking 18th century styles as his starting point and adapting earlier styles to contemporary taste, Linke produced fine quality furniture, steadily expanding his business during the next 20 years. He firmly established his reputation after receiving a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1900 for his extraordinary Grand Bureau. He continued to use international fairs as a means of exploring new markets, exhibiting at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, the Liege in Belgium and the 1908 Franco-British exhibition in London. Linke’s highly original designs sprang from the Régence and Rococo styles but were imbued with something quite new – Rococo curves were laden with gilt-bronze sculptural mounts in the tradition of A.-C. Boulle (1642-1732) or Charles Cressent (1685-1758). Stylistically, the new designs still adhered to the Rococo; the novelty, however, was Linke’s fusion of the Rococo with the liveliness and the fluidity of the ‘art nouveau’. The Revue called Linke’s creations entierement nouveau, and continued to say that ‘Linke’s stand...

An elegant early 20th century French figured mahogany and gilt ormolu vitrine having one center beveled glass door with lock and key, an interior mirrored back and two curved glass d...

A wonderful late 19th century gilt bronze Mounted Louis XV style Vitrine table by Joseph Zwiener Joseph Zwiener The oval shaped table with a beveled glass top encircled by a bronze frieze, above four side glass panels, the canted angles set with pierced foliate-cast clasps, standing on cabriole legs tapering to scrolled sabots. Born in Herdon, Germany, in 1849, Joseph Emmanuel Zwiener followed the tradition of some of the best ébnistes of the nineteenth century. He moved to Paris establishing a workshop at 12, rue de la Roquette, between 1880 and 1895. He produced a wide array of the very finest furniture, modeling in his own interpretations of the eighteenth century Louis XV Rococo style, veneered with the highest and finest quality marquetry and ‘Vernis Martin’ panels. Exhibiting at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, in 1889, Zwiener was awarded a gold medal for what the jury reported as ‘dè ses dèbuts à une Exposition Universelle, [il] s’est mi au premier rang par la richesse, la hardinesse, et le fini de ses meubles incrustés de bronze et fort habilment marquetés.’ Zwiener was closely associated with François Linke, and the two houses produced work which, at first glance, is remarkably similar and with occasionally identical mounts. The similarities are made more likely by the fact that the brilliant sculptor, Léon Messagé, worked initially for Zwiener and subsequently, upon Zwiener’s departure for Berlin to work on furniture commissioned by Freidrich Wilhelm II , he was employed in the workshop of François Linke. It appears that Zwiener, unlike Linke, did not sign all his work, although some stamped pieces with his name and/or his “Z” initial are documented. There is some uncertainty between the recorded stamp E. Zwiener and the work of a Julius Zwiener...

A wonderful late 19th century Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted parquetry vitrine cabinet by Theodore Millet Theodore Millet In demilune form, ...

A pair of wall display windows cabinets Marquetry and beveled glass on each face Label on the back : Waring et Gillow, Ltd. BY APPOINTMENT TO THE K...

An excellent late 19th century Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted vitrine by Joseph Zwiener Joseph Zwiener The serpentine-shaped brèche d’ alep marble top above a single center...