surmounted by a fleur de pêcher marble top, one chute signed F. Linke, the lock has been removed to reveal the CT LINKE stamp and the number 170

Christopher Payne, François Linke 1855 – 1946 The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2003.

Overall in good condition and presentation with the usual minor hairline scratches and minute nicks to veneers and carcass consistent with age and use. Tarnishing to gilt-bronze in places also consistent with age and atmospheric conditions through the years. The marble with the usual minute chips to edges, light scratches to surface consistent with age and use, due to placing object on top. Owing to the brittle nature of the marble, several veins have been filled and the dark purple filler is visible: in some places it is crumbling and parts are missing. One key present.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The style of this cabinet is closely related to those produced in the Paris furniture making trade of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in the 1880s.  There are similarities with the firm of Roux & Brunet, a workshop that produced mounts designed by Léon Messagé, which were later used by François Linke.  Indeed, this vitrine has the iconic Linke "crab-like acanthus" gilt bronze mounts, identified by Christopher Payne in Nineteenth Century European Furniture, that had been introduced by Roux & Brunet upon a design by Léon Messagé.

Franҫois Linke (1855-1946) was undoubtedly the most important Parisian ébéniste of his time. Having served an apprenticeship in his home town of Pankraz, Bohemia, Linke arrived in Paris in 1875 and set up independent workshops at 170, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine in 1881 and later also at 26, Place Vendôme. By the time of the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, Linke's worldwide reputation as a master of high individualism and inventiveness was already established and unmatched by his contemporaries. His success at the 1900 exhibition afforded Linke a high degree of financial stability and allowed him to pursue new markets by exhibiting at subsequent international fairs. Like the inventories of contemporaries such as Beurdeley and Dasson, Linke's oeuvre included copies and adaptations of the distinct styles of eighteenth century important and royal French furniture. However his most extravagant exhibition pieces combined the Louis XV style with the new Art Nouveau style. Linke's frequent collaborator for his designs was the celebrated sculptor Léon Messagé.  In 1904, he was made Officier de L’ Iinstruction Publique, and in 1905 he was called to be a member of the Jury of the Liège exhibition.  Following his stands in the St- Louis (U.S.A.) exhibition in 1904 and the Liège exhibition in 1905, Linke was decorated with the highest distinction of France, the Croix de la Légion d’Honneur, on October 11, 1906.