BY JOHANNES KLINCKERFUSS (1770-1831) AND CASIMIR MÜNCH, STUTTGART, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

This jardiniere is very similar to an occasional table by Klinckerfuss in Schloss Rosenstein. It has the same foot and the same vase-shaped shaft. King William I of Württemberg commissioned the building of Castle Rosenstein in Stuttgart, built between 1824-1831. It was furnished by Klinckerfuss in collaboration with Johann Israel Wirth and the Hofciseleur Casimir Münch. Johannes Klinckerfuss was one of the most important German cabinet makers of the early 19th century. After his apprenticeship he started in 1789 in the workshop of David Roentgen in Neuwied. He soon became famous for his craftsmanship and creative flair, and was recommended by Roentgen to the Bayreuther Hof of Herzog Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg, where he was in charge of the furnishing of Schloss Fantaisie. In 1795 Klinckerfuss worked in the herzogliche Kabinettschreinerei for the Stuttgarter Hof, where he became cabinet-ebenist for Duke Frederick II of Württemberg, later the first king of Württemberg. In 1812 Klinckerfuss opened his own workshop in Stuttgart. He made numerous important pieces in the Empire style. Many of these still remain in the castles Weil near Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, and Rosenstein.
Very little is known about Casimir Münch, however the crafstmanship of the bronzes on the present piece rivals the bronzes of his Parisian contemporaries such as d'Artois et Fils and Letellier, whose bronzes Klinckerfuss often used on his furniture.
A related occasional table by Klinckerfuss is illustrated in Biedermeierzeit, by J.A. Lux, Stuttgart, plate 13 Aus dem Königlichen Schloss Rosenstein bei Stuttgart.
Cf. W. Wiese, Johannes Klinckerfuss, Sigmaringen, 1994, p. 21.