Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Endeavoring to create exquisite work that would endure forever, designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann defined the grandeur of the French Art Deco movement of the 1920s. His luxurious storage cabinets, seating, other furniture and interiors garnered considerable popularity alongside the growth in post–World War I Paris’s population of newly wealthy residents.
The Paris-born Ruhlmann was the son of a decorating contractor, a business he took over in the early 1900s and expanded into furniture and interior design. But by the end of his career, he was best known for being a skilled ensemblier, a term for a designer who not only makes furniture and decorates spaces but rather personally crafts each and every piece required in the space, from doorknobs to sofas. This practice ensured that the space was harmonious and consistent with Ruhlmann’s vision, and it contributed to the lasting popularity of his designs.
Ruhlmann enjoyed the patronage of the newly affluent and was encouraged by the popularity of Art Deco. While the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements were early influences, he is renowned for the modernity of his Art Deco–era designs, which reflected the celebratory nature of the times, including an integration of opulent flourishes; luxurious materials like Macassar ebony, amboyna burl, ivory and precious metals; and skilled craftsmanship and construction techniques.
Renowned all over the world, Ruhlmann was commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to design a cabinet in 1925, embellishing its curved door with a sophisticated floral motif by way of an ornate marriage of wood and ivory veneer. Also in 1925, at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, arguably the exhibition that introduced Art Deco on an international level, his pavilion was the most popular.
By the time the economic depression of the 1930s materialized, Ruhlmann’s exorbitantly expensive designs were no longer viable. But the majesty and elegance of the ’20s remain an important part of design history, and Ruhlmann has been described as “perhaps its finest exponent.”
Find a collection of authentic Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann furniture on 1stDibs.
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Silver Plate, Bronze
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror, Birch
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Macassar
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Paper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Leather, Oak
1930s European Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Ceramic
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Marble
20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Leather, Oak
20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Oak
Early 20th Century Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Macassar
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror, Wood, Walnut, Burl
20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Brass, Bronze
1950s French Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Teak
20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Paper
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Glass
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Paper
2010s French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Paper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Stained Glass, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Brass
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Other
Early 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Metal
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Oak
1930s French Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze, Gold Leaf
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Macassar
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Giltwood
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century English Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Mirror
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Terrazzo
Early 1900s Italian Rococo Antique Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Walnut
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Macassar
1910s Italian Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century French Hollywood Regency Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Paper
Early 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Wood, Paper
2010s Canadian Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Cedar
2010s German Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Wood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Brass
1980s American Modern Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Brass
1930s Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Rush, Wood
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Granite
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze
Mid-20th Century European Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Copper
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Brass
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Wood
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Cut Glass
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Bronze, Nickel
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Crystal
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann Furniture
Alabaster, Bronze