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A Pair of Louis XV Style Bombé Bedside Cabinets in the manner of Zwiener
A Pair of Louis XV Style Bombé Bedside Cabinets in the manner of Zwiener
Dimensions: H: 22 in / 55.5 cm | W: 21.5 in / 54 cm | D: 17 in / 43 cm
A Pair of Louis XV Style Bombé Bedside Cabinets
in the manner of Zwiener
Constructed from bookmatched kingwood, surmounted by original fleur-de-pêcher marble tops, and dressed with fine ormolu mounts throughout, the bombé shaped cabinets standing on splayed sabot-shod feet, the single lockable doors inlaid with floral marquetry within an acanthus-leaf ormolu surround, hinged and opening to reveal a cupboard, with a frieze drawer above, the sides finished in a conforming manner with floral marquetry panels.
French, circa 1890
The Zwiener workshop in Paris, established by brothers Emmanuel (born Joseph-Emmanuel) Zwiener (1849-1925) and Julius Zwiener (1867-1922), ranks among the best haute luxe Parisian cabinetmakers of the late 19th century. Originally from Herford, Germany, they arrived in Paris by 1880 and set up a workshop at 12 rue de la Roquette.
Working in several styles fashionable in Paris at the time, they copied mainly Louis XV pieces from public collections, adapting them in their own exuberant interpretation of Rococo. At the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, the firm received the gold medal and a note of high praise from the jurists: "dès ses débuts d'une Exposition universelle, il c'est mis au premier rang par la richesse, la hardiesse et le fini de ses meubles incrustés de bronzes et fort habilement marquetés". By personal request of the Kaiser, Julius Zwiener returned to Germany at the end of the century in 1895, where he became Hof-Ebenist (Court Cabinetmaker).
Back in Berlin, Zwiener made a suite of furniture for the Kaiser, which was exhibited to Germany's credit at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. The remaining brother in Paris, Emmanuel, sold the workshops to Jean-Henri Jansen, of the eponymous Maison Jansen, around this time, styling themselves as Maison Zwiener, Jansen successeur, producing furniture throughout the first quarter of the 20th century.
Zwiener almost certainly employed François Linke, who was six years younger and a fellow German-speaker. The Pankraz Gedenkbuch mentions Linke as "working in Paris with a German master".
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