Rene Lalique Louveciennes

The career of the famed jewelry designer, glassmaker and decorative artist René Lalique spanned decades and artistic styles. Best known today for his works in glass, Lalique first won recognition for his jewelry. He was described as the inventor of modern jewelry by the French artist and designer Émile Gallé, and his luxurious naturalistic designs helped define the Art Nouveau movement. Later as a glassmaker in the 1920s and ‘30s, Lalique designed vases, clocks, chandeliers and even car hood ornaments that were the essence of Art Deco chic. Even now, the name Lalique continues to be a byword for a graceful, gracious and distinctively French brand of sophistication.

Born in 1860 in the Marne region of France, Lalique began his career as a jewelry designer in the last decades of the 19th century. His work employed now-classic Art Nouveau themes and motifs: flowing, organic lines; forms based on animals, insects and flowers — all rendered in luxurious materials such as ivory, enamel, gold and semi-precious stones. By 1905, Lalique had begun creating works in glass, and his style began to shift to a cleaner, sharper, smoother, more modern approach suited to his new medium. His Paris shop’s proximity to perfumer François Coty’s led him to experiment with beautiful perfume bottles. He offered the first customized scent bottles, transforming the perfume industry. By the end of the First World War, the artist had fully embraced Art Deco modernity, devoting himself to new industrial techniques of glass production and designs that manifest the sweeping lines and the forms suggestive of speed and movement characteristic of the style. Lalique’s work looked both backward and forward in time: embracing ancient mythological themes even as it celebrated modern progress.

Late in his career, Lalique took on high profile luxury interior design projects in Paris, Tokyo and elsewhere. He designed decorative fixtures and lighting for the interior of the luxury liner Normandie in 1935, and decorated the salons of well-known fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet. Today, Lalique’s influence is as relevant as it was when he opened his first jewelry shop in 1890. In a modern or even a traditional décor, as you will see from the objects offered on these pages, the work of René Lalique provides the stamp of savoir-faire.

Art Deco furniture is characterized by its celebration of modern life. More than its emphasis on natural wood grains and focus on traditional craftsmanship, vintage Art Deco dining chairs, tables, desks, cabinets and other furniture — which typically refers to pieces produced during the 1920s and 1930s — is an ode to the glamour of the “Roaring Twenties.” 

ORIGINS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

• Emerged in the 1920s 
• Flourished while the popularity of Art Nouveau declined
• Term derives from 1925’s Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in Paris, France
• Informed by Ancient Egypt, Cubism, Futurism, Louis XVI, De Stijl, modernism and the Vienna Secession; influenced Streamline Moderne and mid-century modernism 

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGN

• Bold geometric lines and forms, floral motifs
• Use of expensive materials such as shagreen or marble as well as exotic woods such as mahogany, ebony and zebra wood
• Metal accents, shimmering mirrored finishes
• Embellishments made from exotic animal hides, inlays of mother-of-pearl or ivory

ART DECO FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

• Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
• René Lalique
• Eileen Gray
• Jean Dunand
• Donald Deskey
• Jean Perzel

VINTAGE ART DECO FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Few design styles are as universally recognized and appreciated as Art Deco. The term alone conjures visions of the Roaring Twenties, Machine Age metropolises, vast ocean liners, sleek typography and Prohibition-era hedonism. The iconic movement made an indelible mark on all fields of design throughout the 1920s and ’30s, celebrating society’s growing industrialization with refined elegance and stunning craftsmanship.

Widely known designers associated with the Art Deco style include Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Eileen Gray, Maurice Dufrêne, Paul Follot and Jules Leleu.

The term Art Deco derives from the name of a large decorative arts exhibition held in Paris in 1925. “Art Deco design” is often used broadly, to describe the work of creators in associated or ancillary styles. This is particularly true of American Art Deco, which is also called Streamline Moderne or Machine Age design. (Streamline Moderne, sometimes known as Art Moderne, was a phenomenon largely of the 1930s, post–Art Nouveau.)

Art Deco textile designers employed dazzling floral motifs and vivid colors, and while Art Deco furniture makers respected the dark woods and modern metals with which they worked, they frequently incorporated decorative embellishments such as exotic animal hides as well as veneers in their seating, case pieces, living room sets and bedroom furniture.

From mother-of-pearl inlaid vitrines to chrome aviator chairs, bold and inventive works in the Art Deco style include chaise longues (also known as chaise lounges) and curved armchairs. Today, the style is still favored by interior designers looking to infuse a home with an air of luxury and sophistication.

The vintage Art Deco furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes dressers, coffee tables, decorative objects and more.

If you have jewelry, chances are you have an antique, new or vintage jewelry box. This simple item was born from a simple need. It offers jewelry lovers a place to store their most cherished treasures. The idea behind a good jewelry box is that precious items deserve a place of honor.

It’s no surprise, then, that jewelry boxes (also called jewelry caskets or trinket boxes) have existed for as long as we’ve worn jewelry. It’s among the most popular decorative boxes we have in our homes, and we can find early versions that date at least as far back as Ancient Egypt. All Egyptians adorned themselves with necklaces, rings, earrings and other accessories, and the era’s jewelry boxes resembled small treasure chests. Later, fine jewelry became cost prohibitive and the only people with jewelry boxes were those who could afford jewelry.

Following the Industrial Revolution, jewelry was no longer made by hand. Mass production and the demand of the growing middle class rendered jewelry more accessible. Jewelry of the Romantic period, which refers to early Victorian jewelry, is reflective of these economic shifts. Jewelry from this time tends to be feminine and ornate, and embellished with seed pearls, coral and turquoise. Naturally, it was stored in elaborate, decorative Victorian-era jewelry boxes that were sometimes crafted from hand-painted porcelain or sterling silver.

Nowadays, jewelry boxes do more than keep jewelry safe and organized. They’re popular collector’s items that have become as treasured as the contents themselves. An eye-catching vintage jewelry box, which is at least 20 but less than 100 years old, is a valuable decorative object, a sign of luxury and elegance that adds character and texture to any bedroom. Some jewelry boxes are even embellished with a few jewels of their own.

If you’re not tucking your jewelry into a drawer or shallow tray atop your vanity, perhaps an Art Deco trinket box with charming brass hardware or a sculptural, hand-carved rosewood mid-century modern jewelry box lined with linen and velvet will do?

Today’s jewelry boxes come in a variety of styles and sizes and are made of metal, wood, plastic and other materials. Give your cherished jewelry the good home it deserves — find an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage jewelry boxes today on 1stDibs.