One of the most elegant and innovative 20th-century French furniture designers, Jacques Adnet created a simple, unadorned signature style that is both trim and vigorous. He began his career in the heyday of the Art Deco era, and in the 1950s, in association with Hermès, created chairs, lamps, desks and other pieces that employed slender metal frames clad in stitched saddle leather. With such furnishings, Adnet brought a fashion sensibility to design and decor that had not been seen since the 1920s prime of the great Paris couturier-decorator Paul Poiret.
Adnet was born in a provincial town in Burgundy, where he studied design before moving, along with his twin brother, Jean, to Paris to study at the École des Arts Décoratifs. After their graduation in the early 1920s, the brothers were hired to work in the decorative-arts atelier of the department store Galeries Lafayette, under the direction of Maurice Dufrêne, an Art Deco master who developed a singularly robust and opulent style. Both Adnets showed their work at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes — the design fair from which the term Art Deco is derived.
In 1928, Jacques Adnet took charge of the struggling La Compagnie des Arts Français, a decorative-arts firm founded by Louis Süe and André Mare that created modern furnishings that bore traces of 18th-century styling. Adnet immediately took the company in a different direction. He developed a simple lithe and lean look that incorporated industrial materials such as metal and glass, along with exotic woods and finishes such as parchment and sharkskin.
Adnet’s furniture begs to be described in terms of personalities: charming faux-bamboo side tables, suave chrome lighting and urbane club chairs. His most noted pieces, which feature sleek metal frames wrapped in Hermès leather, have a character all their own — smooth, elegant and self-assured, they inhabit a room with the same wit and grace as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve.
Find vintage Jacques Adnet furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
1950's Shelve with two coat hangers by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Rare 1950's Stitched leather shelve with coat hangers Great vintage condition Possibility of a second one to make a pair
Leather
$3,251Sale Price|26% Off
Jacques Adnet Stitched Leather and Perpex Floor Lamp
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Jacques Adnet stitched leather and perpex floor lamp, France, 1950 Havana leather color. Great vintage condition.
Leather, Lucite
$3,800 / item
Leather Wrapped Mounted Coatrack by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A red leather coat and hat rack with hooks, rounded for mounting on pillars or columns.
Leather
1950's Stitched leather and wood cocktail table by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
This is an ultra rare cocktail table with magazine, bottle rack and lighting with original rattan shade. The piece is in great condition Dimension to metal : 59 cm Dimension to top o...
Metal
1950's Stitched leather side table by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather side table by Jacques Adnet France Great condition
Brass
1950's Stitched leather floor lamp by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather floor lamp by Jacques Adnet Rare in this color Dimensions given without shade No shade included France
Metal
1950's Stitched leather and bronze fire stools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and bronze mantles Dark blue leather France
Bronze
1950's Stitched leather and wood side table by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and wood side table by Jacques Adnet France
Leather, Wood
1950's Stitched leather coat rack by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1940's Stitched leather coat rack By Jacques Adnet Great condition Yellow leather
Metal
1950s Stitched Leather and Bamboo Umbrella Stand by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Stunning stitched leather and real bamboo umbrella stand by Jacques Adnet France 1950s.
Metal
1950's Stitched Leather Wall Shelve by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Rare wall shelve fully recovered with stitched leather by Jacques Adnet France 1950's.
Leather
1950's Stitched leather free form cocktail table by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and oak cocktail table Rare with this shape France
Leather, Oak
1950's Stitched Leather "Anchor" Sconces by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Rare pair of Stitched Leather "anchor " sconces designed by Jacques Adnet France 1950.
Metal
1950's Stitched Leather Umbrella Stand by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Very nice and unusual umbrella stand covered with stitched leather France 1950's.
Metal, Brass
1950's Stitched Leather Fire tools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Rare pair of stitched leather fire tools by Jacques Adnet Colour is burgundy The piece is in great vintage condition.
Bronze
1950's Pair of Stitched Leather Stools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's pair of stitched leather stools by Jacques Adnet France.
Leather
1950's Stitched Leather Bottles Holder by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather bottles holder by Jacques Adnet France.
Leather, Wood
1950's Stitched Leather and Glass Box by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and glass box by Jacques Adnet France.
Leather, Glass
1950s Stitched Leather Coat Rack by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950s stitched leather coat rack by Jacques Adnet.
Leather
Very Nice Cocktail Table by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Cocktail table covered with stitched blue leather by Jacques Adnet. Perfect condition.
Leather
Price Upon Request
Fine French 1950s Leather Covered Desk and Chairs by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jacques Adnet (1900 - 1984) - A fine French mid-century leather-covered curved desk with patinated metal details, a compass style cherry frame with tapered legs finished with silver-...
Leather, Cherry