A rosewood writing desk with an undulating shape, the oblong - Lot 97

A rosewood writing desk with an undulating shape, the oblong top featuring a gilded bronze gallery decorated with posts and foliage, including a lamp arm and an inkwell, surmounted on the left side by a card cabinet that opens to reveal two small drawers supporting a figure of Cupid amid clouds, decorated with contoured frames, naturalistic foliage, shells, and a pomegranate, resting on a base that opens to reveal a drawer and four curved legs adorned with foliage scrolls, with a claw-foot base and border; (restorations; sun-faded veneer; electrified). Signed by François Linke (on the lock). Made between 1939 and 1944. H_111 cm W_85 cm D_45 cm Inkwell lid needs to be reattached. Provenance: Acquired in 1944 directly from F. Linke et Cie. Image 8: View of the F. Linke booth at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, photograph. Bibliography: C. Payne, *Linke, 1855–1946: The Belle Époque of French Furniture*, Woodbridge, 2003. Seven identical writing desks were produced under the direction of François Linke (1855–1946) between 1900 and 1944. The first in this small series (No. 552) was one of the highlights of the Linke company’s booth at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair. A photograph of the booth allows us to identify this first example as it appeared at the exhibition. An identical writing desk with storage compartments was sold at Sotheby’s in New York on April 19, 2007, lot 163 ($419,000); it had previously been sold at Sotheby’s in New York on October 25, 1996, lot 201. Another desk was sold in Nice at the Nice Riviera auction house on December 3, 2005, lot 100. The current owner’s family archives contain an interesting letter signed by François Linke, dated July 28, 1944, regarding the acquisition of this desk, in which François Linke, following a potential buyer’s hesitation, suggests meeting again to finalize the sale of the desk. C. Payne’s book specifies that the desk was already under construction as early as 1939, the date on which the bronze engravings were completed (op. cit., p. 134). Appraiser: Pierre-François DAYOT Appraiser: DAYOT Pierre-François