A French gilt-bronze mounted kingwood desk, late 19th century, in the manner of Maison Millet

The design of this desk is identical to a parquetry bureau signed MILLET A PARIS (Bonhams, London, 5 July 2012, lot 193, £49,250), corresponding to the furniture firm established in Paris by Théodore Millet since 1853. Others desks of the same design and attributed to Maison Millet were sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24th October 2007, lot 157 ($97,000) and Christie's, New York, 11th April 2018, lot 422 ($36,250).

The gilt-bronze mount decoration of these examples is undoubtedly strongly influenced, if not directly created, by the celebrated sculptor and designer Léon Messagé, who was know to have collaborated with Millet.

Léon Messagé, whose book of designs, Cahier des Dessins et Croquis Style Louis XV totaling thirty-six drawings for furniture, bronzes doré and silver, published in 1890 from his address at 40 rue Sedaine near the Faubourg St. Antoine, was most probably acting as a freelance artist collaborating closely with various different ébénistes parisiens such as the celebrated cabinetmakers Zwiener, Roux et Brunet and Linke. His creative genius interpreted the Louis XV style of the mid-18th century in a vigorous manner, cleverly adopting the asymmetric rocaille style popularized in the 1720s by Parisian designers such as Juste Aurèle Meissonier (1695-1750), as well as the classicism of the Louis XVI style. This was common enough practice under the Second Empire and in the latter years of the 19th century alongside contemporaries such as Beurdeley, Charles Wincklesen, Dasson and Sormani. After making sketches, Messagé made a three-dimensional model of wax or plaster of the piece for client approval on a scale one-fifth the intended size of the finished piece. From the wax model a life-sized model in wood was made to ensure a precise fit of the bronze mounts. Records show that Messagé designed all the important items for Linke's booth at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle (please see footnote of lot 163). The periodical review Art & Curiosité records that Message's projects were "nés sous le crayon se formèrent d'un jet plus rapide en la noble matière du bronze, ciselé d'une main sûre" (born from the pen, [the projects] were rapidly and accurately rendered into bronze, [and] chiseled by a firm hand) (October, 1904, p. 166).

Maison Millet was established by Théodore Millet in 1853, and operated until 1902 from premises at 11, Rue Jacques-Coeur, Paris before relocating to 23, Boulevard Beaumarchais. Maison Millet was a highly regarded furniture firm that was described as producing 'meuble et bronze d'art, genre ancien et moderne.' The company won several awards in the series of exhibitions in London and Paris, such as the gold medal in the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, a Grand Prix in 1900 and three further diplomes d'honneur and four médailles d'or for the furniture they produced. The firm specialized in the Louis XV and XVI styles, though they were acclaimed by their contemporaries for working in their own modern style. In March 1902, the firm was authorized by the Palais de Versailles to replicate Marie-Antoinette's celebrated Grand cabinet à bijoux. An auction was held in 1906 clearing the remaining stock and the firm finally ceased trading in 1918. Maison Millet was an active client of François Linke.