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.
Original Ruhlmann Signed Argentier Geoffroy Commode - Buffett/Credenza
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Hillside, NJ
Original Ruhlmann Argentier Geoffroy Commode The Argentier (silver cabinet) Geoffroy was named for the first client who ordered this model. This cabinet was the second example mad...
Stone, Bronze
$145,000
H 36.5 in W 56.25 in D 23.25 in
French Art Deco Commode by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, 20th Century
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Queens, NY
French Art Deco burled amboyna wood two door commode with bronze trim detailing with diamond design brass pencil line inlay. (Rasson model) (signed: EMILE-JACQUES RUHLMANN) Note: Ivo...
Brass, Bronze
Reform Hammered Brass Credenza
By Jonathan Adler
Located in New York, NY
The Reform credenza is inspired by the Brutalist architecture of modernist temples and churches from Le Corbusier's Ronchamp to Miami's Temple Israel t...
Brass
Regency Mahogany Credenza
Located in Westwood, NJ
A fine Regency style mahogany veneered and yew burl banded buffet, the break bowfront top with an ebony and brass inlaid edge, above an arrangement of four frieze drawers above centr...
Wood
Dudouyt - Inspired - Bleached Oak Credenza - 1940s - France
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Step back in time to the enchanting world of 1940s France with this exquisite French Provincial oak credenza. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this compact piece captures...
Oak
18th Century Italian Credenza
Located in Round Top, TX
A very charming 18th century Credenza from the Florence region of Italy. Wonderfully constructed from painted wood in the scantonata form, with the conforming top, four doors with in...
Wood
French Art Deco Credenza with Mirrored Doors After Jules Leleu
By Maison Dominique, Jules Leleu, Andre Domin & Marcel Genevriere for Maison Dominique, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, André Arbus
Located in Houston, TX
French Art Deco credenza with mirrored doors after Jules Leleu. Glamorous French Art Deco Jules Leleu inspired four-door enfilade / buffet / cred...
Glass, Wood
Art Deco Style French Sideboard with Brass Details, C 1960
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
A striking mid-century French sideboard featuring a bold structural design with refined geometric detailing. This elegant piece combines functional storage with sophisticated aesthet...
Oak
Tommi Parzinger Originals Credenza
By Tommi Parzinger
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A classic server/buffet by Tommy Parzinger for Parzinger Originals, ca' 1960's. Beautiful brass hardware, key, felt lined top drawer. High quality construction and original warm finish.
Wood
Oak Credenza with Carved Roundels, France, 1940s
Located in Kaštel Sućurac, HR
An oak credenza made in France in the 1940s, in the manner of Charles Dudouyt. The two door fronts carry deep circular carving, a motif Dudouyt returned to throughout the decade, and...
Oak
Delphine Mirrored Credenza
By Jonathan Adler
Located in New York, NY
Reflectology. Minimalist forms meet Maximalist glamour. Antiqued mirror with a polished brass base. Two double-door compartments open to reveal a bright robin's egg blue interior fitted with two adjustable shelves. Quatrefoil handles and escutcheons add a decorative flourish to the simple form. Use our reflective Delphine credenza...
Brass
1940's Grand French Art Deco Palisander Buffet/ Sideboard/ Credenza
Located in Opa Locka, FL
1940's Grand French Art Deco Palisander Rio Buffet/ Sideboard. Finished interior. This is a liquidation offer. Great price!
Wood
Oak Credenza, Solid Oak, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Kaštel Sućurac, HR
Oak credenza made in France in the 1940s in the manner of Charles Dudouyt, with two doors carved with a hunting scene. The carving is cut in low relief straight into the solid oak, a...
Oak