Cabinet by F. Linke

F. Linke
Cabinetmaker and bronze craftsman
(1855-1946)
(attributed to)

Pair of Neo-Renaissance cabinets
France
Circa 1880

Cabinet 1 – Top. : 152cm; Width. : 96 cm; Depth: 48 cm
Cabinet 2 – Top. : 150cm; Width. : 87.5 cm; Depth: 42 cm

A rare pair of Renaissance-style cabinets, crafted from stained wood imitating ebony. The upper section, adorned with marquetry panels alternating with slender fluted columns, opens via a central door to reveal a charming interior with shelves, veneered in sycamore with ebony frames. The marquetry decoration of the panels, made of light wood, features delicate carved acanthus leaves, grotesques, and vases of flowers—motifs characteristic of the Renaissance decorative repertoire. The lower section, with its console table, has three drawers above arched and fluted columns for the front legs. The back of the cabinet is decorated with marquetry of similar motifs.

These neo-Renaissance cabinets are similar to the one from the private collection of François Linke.
(Reproduced and commented on in François Linke (1855-1946), The Belle Epoque of French Furnitures, Ch. Payne, pp.40-41).
While François Linke's style is primarily recognizable as Rococo with Art Nouveau influences, he sometimes drew upon other reminiscences, such as the French Renaissance, where the cabinet held a central place in interior design. This cabinet, or collector's cabinet, with its sumptuously ornamented doors and matching base, presents a decorative aesthetic derived from architecture.