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.
Jacques Adnet Rare Leather and Bronze Horseshoe Wall Clock, France, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in New York, NY
Jacques Adnet rare horseshoe wall clock covered in original black saddle-stiched leather suspended by brass hanging ring with hands and numbers in bronz...
Brass
Round Clock and Barometer in Black Leather by Jacques Adnet, France, 1950
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Paris, FR
In 1950, the designer Jacques Adnet developed a collection of furniture and accessories in stitched leather. This clock and this barometer come from this collection. They are round, ...
Brass
Jacques Adnet Ashtray in Leather & Glass, France 1950's
By Jacques Adnet
Located in New York, NY
Cast glass vide poche with original leather brown trim.
Leather, Art Glass
$16,393 / set
H 20.48 in W 12.6 in D 5.52 in
French Rococo Style Gilt Bronze Clock and Barometer by Charpentier
By Charpentier et Cie
Located in London, GB
Designed in the French Rococo style, this clock and barometer set have been beautifully ornamented with scrolling foliate gilt bronze forms. The two are diamond shaped, with symmetri...
Enamel, Ormolu, Bronze
$533
H 30.32 in W 5.32 in D 2.76 in
Midcentury Wall Clock in the Form of a Wristwatch in Leather and Brass, Germany
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Nürnberg, Bayern
Midcentury wall clock in the form of a wristwatch in leather and brass, Germany Made in Germany by Meister Anker. Electric, battery operated clock.
Metal, Brass
Grey Industrial Factory Wall Clock from IBM, 1950s
By IBM
Located in Kojetice, CZ
This wall clock was produced by IBM in USA during the 1950s. It features a dark grey metal frame, iron dial, aluminium hands and a clear glass cover. The piece has been converted int...
Aluminum, Iron
$1,037
H 7.49 in W 7.88 in D 2.76 in
French Handstitched Brown Leather Clock, Jacques Adnet Attributed, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Den Haag, NL
French handstitched brown leather clock, Jacques Adnet attributed, 1950s.
Brass
Jacques Adnet Brass and Leather Side Table / Catchall, 1950s France
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning red leather side table / catchall by French designer Jacques Adnet. Iron frame wrapped in a beautiful red leather with glass catchall on top. A large ring with three brass ...
Brass, Iron
$999
H 5.91 in W 7.88 in D 2.37 in
Hermes Style French Handstitched Brown Leather Desk Clock by Bayard, 1950´s
By Bayard, Jacques Adnet, Paul Dupré-Lafon
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Handsome French Handstitched brown leather desk clock by Bayard. Great Restored condition. Keeps good time. Excellent patina. Great vintage condition. Paul Dupré-Lafon / Adnet Style...
Leather, Wood
Jacques Adnet Style Glass Ashtray with Leather Lid, 1950s France
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Substantial glass catchall / ashtray with a leather lid in the style of French designer Jacques Adnet. Thick frosted glass body with a lid made of black leather with contrast stitch...
Brass
$24,590 / set
H 30.32 in W 12.6 in D 5.91 in
Louis XV Rococo Style Clock and Barometer Set by P. Gravelin
By L. Marti et Cie
Located in London, GB
Louis XV Rococo style clock and barometer set by Gravelin French, Late 19th Century Clock & Barometer: height 77cm, width 32cm, depth 15cm Designed in the Louis XV Rococo style, this very fine clock and barometer set dates to c.1870 and was made by Parisian makers Paul Gravelin & Louis Marti et Cie in the time of the French Belle Époque. The matching cases are cast with scrolling foliate decoration, with intricate, elegant swirling flowers and ribbons, in rocaille form. The dial of the clock is painted with both Arabic and Roman numerals and signed to the centre 'Paul Gravelin,' above the dial, and below: 'Paris, 8 Rue Charlot,' while the square-plate eight-day movement is by Marti, an stamped 'Louis Marti et Cie, Bronze Medaille.' The gilding is of exceptional quality, and demonstrates the prowess of late nineteenth century Parisian craftsmen, who looked to earlier French regal periods for stylistic inspiration yet updated styles, particularly the Rococo, with their own individual flair, as is evident from these fine antique timepieces.
Enamel, Ormolu
$1,000
H 14.18 in W 9.06 in D 9.06 in
Handcraft leather bottle/wine carrier by Jacques Adnet, France, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
Wine / bottle carrier by Jacques Adnet. Crafted in stitched black leather with brass rods and handle, the piece reflects Adnet’s refined approach to functional design. A sculptural y...
Leather
Adnet Style Leather Alarm Clock by Bayard
By Bayard
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Handsome French saddle leather desk clock by Bayard in the style of Jacques Adnet. Excellent vintage condition. Keeps time and has an alarm. Great patin...
Brass
Jacques Adnet Cognac Leather and Glass Ashtray, 1950s France
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Classic leather and glass catchall / ashtray by French designer Jacques Adnet. Rich cognac leather base with signature Adnet contrast stitching and a circular inset cutout. Crystal g...
Leather, Glass