Giltwood Thermometer & Perpetual Calendar attr. to F. Linke, France, c.1880

Elegant set of Louis XVI style comprising a thermometer and a perpetual calendar. Each consisting of a metal plaque, painted with floral motifs on a beige background : for the calendar, four openings dislaying the year, the month, the day and its corresponding number in black on a parchment background, and for the alcohol thermometer, graduations indicating some states in Nature as « Ice » at 0° Celsius, or temperature suitable for « Silkworms » at 23° C. Molded carved and gilded wood frameworks enriched with volutes, acanthuses and oak leaves.

Related work :
This pair is to be linked to the Louis XVI style alcohol thermometer and matching barometer made by François Linke, and registered under n°1830 in his personal archives.

Biography :
François Linke, born in 1855 in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), worked as a cabinet-maker in Paris from about 1882 until his death in 1946. In 1900, at the apex of his career, he opened a new shop at the famous Parisian place Vendôme. He specialized in Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture: all pieces were beautifully mounted with gilt-bronze ornaments, and he received numerous commissions. Later Linke decided to collaborate with the well-known sculptor Léon Messagé and integrated new lines and shapes announcing the “Art Nouveau” style. His great success is definitely the 1900 Universal Exhibition where he was awarded the gold medal for his extraordinary kingwood desk, designed by Messagé. At this occasion, the “Revue artistique et industrielle” commented that “Linke’s stand is the biggest show in the history of art furniture”.