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.
Pair of White Ceramic Dove Sculptures by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in New York, NY
This stunning pair of Art Deco white ceramic dove sculptures were realized by Jacques Adnet- one of the most celebrated and influential designers of the A...
Ceramic
Letter Rack by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet, Compagnie Des Arts Français
Located in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire
Jacques Adnet & the Compagnie des arts Français letter rack. Chromed metal consisting of a series of vertical blades of curved section resting on rectangul...
Silver Plate, Brass, Chrome
$16,503
H 5.12 in Dm 8.67 in
Fabulous pair of Baccarat crystal candelabras, by Jacques Adnet, France, 1935
By Jacques Adnet, Baccarat
Located in Paris, FR
Jacques Adnet, a French architect and designer, began his career at one of the first modern art workshops, La Maîtrise, directed by Maurice Dufrêne. In 1928, Jacques Adnet found hims...
Crystal, Bronze
$271Sale Price|50% Off
H 9.06 in W 7.88 in D 9.06 in
Ceramic Sculpture Of Two Blue Doves, Keramia 1960s
By Keramia
Located in Zohor, SK
Beautiful, elegant sculpture of two blue doves. Produced by Keramia. The sculpture is in gypsum with blue glaze. The original label still attached, marked also on the bottom. The scu...
Plaster
$559Sale Price|50% Off
H 5.12 in W 7.88 in D 3.94 in
Aldo Londi Rimini Blue Ceramic Dove Sculpture, Bitossi, Italy, 1960s
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Valencia, VC
Aldo Londi for Bitossi – Rimini Blue “Prezzemolo” Ceramic Dove, Italy, 1960s Rare Rimini Blue “Prezzemolo” ceramic dove designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, handmade in Italy circa 1...
Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware
$1,108
H 6.3 in W 9.06 in D 4.34 in
Bitossi Rimini Blu Ceramic Dove Sculpture by Aldo Londi, Italy, 1950s
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in AMSTERDAM, NL
Iconic Italian Mid-Century Modern ceramic dove from the Rimini Blu series, designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, finished in a richly glazed cobalt-blue surface with incised geometric ...
Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware
1930's "dove" ceramic by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
A Rare French Midcentury Modern ceramic dove by Jacques Adnet, circa 1955. Adnet had a rare talent for creating works that had used exquisite form and lines with rich materials. The...
Ceramic
$300Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 7 in W 6 in D 8 in
Pair of Italian Gold Guild Doves Ceramic Sculptures / Figurines
By Alvino Bagni
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful pair of 1970's Italian gold guild ceramic doves, figurines great condition no chips or crack nice patina and finish.
Gold Leaf
$2,400 / set
H 8.5 in W 7.5 in D 3.15 in
Pair of Ceramic Doves by Jacques Adnet, Art Deco, Ivory Glaze, 1930
By Jacques Adnet
Located in CA, CA
This wonderful pair of Turtledoves is by the key Art Deco designer Jacques Adnet and was first shown at the pivotal 'Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes' of 1925 w...
Ceramic
Jacques Adnet Style Bronze Horse Sconce Wall Lamp French Neoclassical
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Miami, FL
Jacques Adnet style neoclassical bronze horse head sconce, wall light, lamp with form fit original shade. In perfect working condition and takes 2 l...
Bronze, Brass
Large Rare White Faience Cat Art Deco Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Austin, TX
Large Rare White Faience Cat Art Deco Jacques Adnet. Made by Henri Delcourt a Boulogne (1917-1935) for the Maitrise. Signed Adnet and Henri Delcourt.
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
1950's Pair of stitched Leather book end by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather book end by Jacques Adnet France
Leather, Oak
$707
H 3.75 in W 5.52 in D 5.52 in
Jacques Adnet Midcentury Brown Leather and Glass French Ashtray, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Roma, IT
Superb ashtray with a leather body and glass top. This fantastic item is attributed to Jacques Adnet and was produced in France during the 1950s. The unique element of this magnif...
Leather, Glass