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.
$11,000
Ruhlmann Chandelier
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Bridgewater, CT
Jacques Emile Ruhlmann Chandelier Small fixture made of multiple rows of satin glass pearls. Designed for restaurant Drouant in Par...
Glass
Rainbow Leather Meander Chandelier
Located in Pound Ridge, NY
Our Meander Chandelier in glorious ROYGBIV colors. Seven flexible leather wrapped arms allows for playful poses and creative customization. As show...
Brass
Italian Glass Chandelier
Located in Antwerp, BE
Italian chandelier with five E14 bulbs and one E27 bulb. Measures: Diameter 50 cm. Height fixture 38 and 67 cm. Total height with the chain 130 cm.
Metal
Poliedri Chandelier
By Venini
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Italian chandelier with clear hand blown polyhedron/polyhedral shaped Murano glasses suspended on white metal frame / Made in Italy in the style of Venini, circa 1960s Measur...
Metal
$5,990
H 9 in Dm 11.88 in
French Art Deco Brass & Glass Flush Mount, Style Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, C 1925
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in New York, NY
An Elegant and Classic French Art Deco / Early Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount fixture or pendant in the style of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. The brass is composed of an antique brass rou...
Brass
Murano Glass Chandelier
Located in Antwerp, BE
Italian Murano glass pendant light. Measure: Diameter 47 cm. Height fixture 38 cm. Total height with the chain 100 cm. One E27 bulb.
Metal
Pair of Luxurious Crystal Chandelier, Italy, 1940
Located in Rome, IT
This pair of sumptuous chandelier supporting a set of precious cut crystal prisms. Finely chiseled silver color frame with octagon crystals and oak leaves. Ideal for a large receptio...
Art Glass
French Art Deco Chandelier Signed Muller Freres Luneville
Located in New York City, NY
French Art Deco frosted art glass chandelier. Central coupe with four matching tulips suspended from the original hand-wrought iron frame bearing rose and leaf details with fine martele hammering. The glass highly stylized with geometric pattern overall signed Muller Freres Luneville...
Wrought Iron
Italian Chandelier, Murano
By Mazzega
Located in Budapest, HU
Italian vintage chandelier in Murano glass and nickel-plated metal structure. The armor polished nickel supports 36 large shaded pink glass tubes in a star shape. Period:late XX cent...
Metal
Pair Italian Chandeliers, Murano
By Mazzega
Located in Budapest, HU
Pair Italian vintage chandeliers in Murano glass and nickel-plated metal structure. The armor polished nickel supports 36 large shaded pink glass tubes in a star shape. Period:late X...
Metal
Stilnovo Style "X" Chandelier
By Stilnovo
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Two crossed brass tubes create the huge 'X'. With four brass and black enameled arms and one brass bottom arm, all with handblown glass globes. Black enameled round canopy. Size...
Enamel, Brass
Italian Chandelier
Located in Antwerp, BE
Chandelier in metal with eight E27 bulbs. Measures: Diameter 58 cm. Height fixture 33 cm. Total height with the chain 70 cm.
Metal
Art Deco Brass and Glass Chandelier
Located in Antwerp, BE
Art Deco glass and brass chandelier. Measures: Diameter 70 cm. Height fixture 67 cm. Total height including the chain 130 cm.
Brass