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.
Set of 2 Wallpapers "JER", Jacques Emile Rulhmann
By Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Wallpapers "JER", Jacques Emile Rulhmann Dimensions: 53 W x 0.2 D x 1000 H cm Materials: Wallpaper (paper quality 150g) Different colors are available JER is a wallpap...
Paper
$1,932Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 58 in W 41 in D 0.1 in
Japanese Garden Wallpaper Panels Hand Painted Wallpaper on gold gilded paper
Located in Wuxi, 32
If you love the look of De Gournay wallpaper but not the price, this is for you. Measures: 41" wide x 58" The colorways in this sections present our latest colorways, which can be a...
Gold Leaf
$670
H 1 in W 360 in D 27 in
Brunschwig & Fils Hand-Printed Cherubin et Lapins, Wallpaper, Angels and Rabbits
By Brunschwig & Fils
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brunschwig & Fils hand-printed Cherubin et Lapins, wallpaper, angels and rabbits, 2000. Vintage, rare, out of print design featuring alternating scenes of rabbits and cherubs surroun...
Paper
$960Sale Price|25% Off
H 4 in W 36 in D 4 in
Brunschwig & Fils Hand-Printed Yellow Kanchou Mimosa Wallpaper Double Roll 2002
By Brunschwig & Fils
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brunschwig & Fils hand-printed yellow Kanchou wallpaper, floral, avian, parrots. 2002. Design features lovely yellow background and a large floral a...
Paper
$187Sale Price / item|25% Off
H 9 in W 180 in D 0.5 in
Vintage Brunschwig & Fils Victoria & Albert Bird Song Hand-Printed Wallpaper
By Brunschwig & Fils
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Adorable and rare Brunschwig & Fils hand-printed wallpaper border inspired by Victorian design from the Victoria & Albert Museum. Have not been able t...
Paper
Glitch Wallpaper
By Millim Studio
Located in Roma, IT
Glitch by Millim Studio, is the first wallpaper by Secondome. The febrifugal plants, that cover the background, contrast the short-lived fault in the system which causes the “glitch”...
Paper
Layers #3 Wallpaper
By Millim Studio
Located in Roma, IT
Were I, all of a sudden, to find myself lost in a dream, I would search in the horizon for the right moment to make it come true. Even if everything s...
Paper
$1,790 / set
H 20.5 in W 792 in D 1 in
Brunschwig & Fils Blue Floral Chiltern Tring Wallpaper Hand-Printed in England
By Brunschwig & Fils
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brunschwig & Fils blue floral Chiltern "Tring" wallpaper hand-printed in England, 1989. Three rolls as pictured. Two rolls are in unopened packaging, noted as 11 yards by 20.5". Thir...
Paper
$10,725Sale Price|25% Off
H 36 in W 20 in D 20 in
Brunschwig and Fils Boscobel Restoration Medford Inn 1804 Hand-Printed Wallpaper
By Brunschwig & Fils
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brunschwig and Fils Boscobel Restoration Medford Inn 1804 hand-printed wallpaper. Very unusual paper - it is marked as custom hand-printed for the Boscobel Restoration, Inc. with a copyright date of 1977. The Boscobel Restoration is a rebuilt historic mansion (see images 9 and 10) in Garrison, NY using salvaged parts of an original Federal-period home that was demolished in the 1950s. This is a historic pattern, marked on the paper as "Medford Inn, 1804" and a registered design of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. The Medford Inn (see image 11) was built in 1804 and became known as a well-known hotel located on Main Street in Medford, Massachusetts. The design of the paper hearkens back to Roman tradition of wall decoration, with a trompe l’oleil effect that mimics ornate panelling and stone inlay. As per the this paper was also produced in a brown colorway and is part of the Digital Public Library of America and Historic New England...
Paper
$600 / item
H 3 in W 3 in D 27 in
Brunschwig & Fils St. Barts Hand-Printed Wallpaper, Charlotte Moss, Beige, 2006
By Brunschwig & Fils, Charlotte Moss
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Brunschwig & Fils St. Barts hand-printed wallpaper, Charlotte Moss, Beige 2006. Vintage, rare, limited edition designed by Charlotte Moss for Brunschwig & Fils, 2006. Sold by double ...
Paper
Pair Of Chinese Export Wallpaper Panels
Located in Essex, MA
Each with simple giltwood frames with plexiglass. The paper is backed with cloth.
Plexiglass, Paper
$980 / item
H 1 in W 504 in D 20.5 in
Vintage Chinoiserie Deep Blue Hand-Printed Schumacher Wallpaper, Heron Greek Key
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage chinoiserie deep blue hand-printed Schumacher wallpaper, heron, Greek key. Listing is for one roll. Multiple available.
Paper
$4,880 / set
H 1 in W 1,850 in D 30 in
Vintage Scalamandre Trompe L’Oeil Normandy Blue Ribbon, French Wallpaper, 1986
By Scalamandre
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage Scalamandre trompe L’Oeil Normandy blue ribbon, French wallpaper, 1986. Equivalent to 10+ single rolls at 5 yards each. Totals more than 50...
Paper