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Casino Royale: furniture design from Linley
2011-05-12 16:48
Who:
David Linley Furniture
Where:
Belgravia and Mayfair
Web:
http://www.davidlinleyfurniture.com
For aspiring Ian Flemings, it's exactly what the cabinet-maker ordered.
This bespoke walnut and leather writing desk - fashioned around a scaled-down version of Charles Garnier's celebrated
Monte Carlo Casino - is a marvel of style from Mayfair-based furniture designers Linley. And while it may not have
James Bond written all over it, it does carry a specially inscribed portrait of HSH Prince Charles III, who commissioned the casino, and, inlaid in red sycamore and holly, the flag of Monaco itself.
The Mayfair-based furniture makers - named after their founder Viscount Linley, the Queen's nephew - specialize in highly desirable custom-made
pieces which exemplify the highest standards of British
luxury design. Other architectural designs include humidors modelled on the Laguito and Partagas factories in Havana, wine cabinets based on Châteaux Petrus and Margaux, and a jewel box in the shape of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. But this unique desk is really quite an exceptional example.
The handmade desk, measuring nearly six feet in length, is beautifully crafted with rosewood and sycamore marquetry, and is surmounted by the Belle Epoque landmark itself, ranged on each side with with stylized colonnades. The desk also contains a number of secret drawers for stashing away
your winnings, inlaid with designs reflecting the world of the Casino:
dice, and - that dream of all poker players - a royal flush of hearts.
Originally priced at around €71,000, the exquisitely-designed item was sold in September 2010. It's very much a one-off, but we are sure that Linley would consider a commission - perhaps based on the design of your yacht? It would not be the first time that a piece of the David Linley's furniture had been associated with the Principality. The
Lady Moura, often berthed in Port Hercule, is rumoured to have on board a 60-foot dining table from the royal designer.