stamped on the underside of the frame, j. ZWIENER, France c. 1900, gently curved hardwood frame with curved frame decoration on all sides, veneered with mahogany and brown stained satinwood, with polished finish, bronze doré border edging and fittings, 3 drawers, 3 sham drawers in matching decoration on the back, dark red/brown leather inlay with gold-embossed decor, c. 74 x 183 x 91 cm, with small supplemented veneer parts, restored condition. (DOC)

This model is illustrated in the book "BERLINER BELLE EPOQUE Der Ebenist Julius Zwiener und die Kunstmöbel für den Hof Kaiser Wilhelms II. (1888-1918)".

Lit.:
Jörg Meiner, Berliner Belle Époque, p. 117. fig. 150, Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2014

JULIUS ZWIENER (1867–1922), brother of Emanuel Zwiener, a cabinet-maker working in Paris, came from Paris to Berlin at the suggestion of Emperor Wilhelm II (1859–1941) and his mother Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (1840–1901). Julius Zwiener opened his studio in Berlin in 1894 and became a Court Purveyor to Wilhelm II. The emperor’s intention was to enable Berlin, as an up-and-coming metropolis, to compete with Paris in terms of furniture production. Julius Zwiener made a bedroom set for the Berlin Palace, as well as various imposing furniture for the Neues Palais in Berlin. Zwiener was in great competition with the famous cabinet-maker of that time, such as F. LINKE, E. BEURDELEY and P. SORMANI, fuelling creativity and quality demands. The company was sold in 1922 and Atelier J. ZWIENER retained the rights to the name until 1950.