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 Stitched leather rocking chair by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
A Rare French Midcentury Modern hand stitched leather Rocking chair by Jacques Adnet, circa 1955. Adnet had a rare talent for creating works that had used exquisite form and lines ...
Metal
1950's Stitched leather Rocking chair by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather Rocking chair designed by Jacques Adnet Nice chocolate brown color France
Bronze
1950's Stitched leather Rocking chair and ottoman by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and his ottoman by Jacques Adnet Burgundy leather France
Leather
RAR Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames, 1950s
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Uccle, BE
This emblematic rocking chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames in the fifties is well known for its powerful form and its indisputable comfort. The RAR (Rocking Armchair Rod Base), ma...
Aluminum
Daybed by Jacques Adnet Black Stitched Leather and Brass, France 1950
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Miami, FL
Jacques Adnet Daybed in Black Stitched Leather with Brass Accents, France, circa 1950 Elegant and rare daybed by Jacques Adnet, France, circa 1950, exemplifying the designer’s signa...
Brass
Siesta rocking chair and ottoman by Ingmar Relling
By Westnofa Furniture, Ingmar Relling
Located in Courbevoie, FR
Siesta rocking chair and ottoman by Ingmar Relling for Westnofa. Black leather. Excellent original condition.
Leather, Beech
Swedish Rocking Chair in Sheepskin, 1950s
By Viggo Boesen
Located in Stockholm, SE
Reupholstered in honey colored sheepskin. Produced in Sweden, 1950s.
Sheepskin
$2,891
H 34.26 in W 22.84 in D 39.38 in
Original 1950s Japanese Rocking chair by Takeshi Nii in brown leather, aluminium
By Takeshi Nii
Located in København K, 84
An original 1950s Japanese rocking chair by designer Takeshi Nii, this exceptional piece is as much an engineering achievement as a design icon. Conceived to be folded and portable, ...
Aluminum
Jacques Adnet saddle-stitched leather brass desk chair 1950
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Paris, IDF
Beautiful desk chair in black leather by Jacques Adnet dating from the early 1950s. This chair is characteristic of Adnet's work, soft saddle-stitched leather dit piqué sellier, and ...
Brass
Ole Wanscher FD-120 Rosewood & Leather Rocking Chair, 1950s
By France & Daverkosen, Ole Wanscher
Located in London, England
Ole Wanscher - FD-120 Rocking Chair, 1951 This rarely seen rocking chair by Professor Ole Wanscher was produced by France & Son in Denmark in the early 1960s. The immaculate rosewoo...
Leather, Rosewood
$33,737
H 30.52 in W 51.58 in D 24.22 in
Rare Desk and Armchair by Jacques Adnet, Stitched Leather and Skaï, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Paris, FR
These desk and armchair by Jacques Adnet are quite rare with its marine type handles. Thea are completely covered with a mix of leather and skaï (faux leather) which is saddle-stitch...
Metal, Brass
Vintage Wicker Rocking Chair, 1950s
Located in Quarrata, IT
Wicker 1950s rocking chair.
Wicker, Rattan, Rush
Scandinavian Pine Wood And Leather Rocking Chair
Located in ECHT, NL
A Scandinavian pine rocking chair from the late 70s This comfortable chair features a solid, pine wooden frame with a seat and backrest in cognac leather. Organic, rounded shapes wi...
Leather, Pine
$9,500 / set
H 28.5 in W 27 in D 26 in
PAIR Italian Midcentury Bamboo & Stitched Leather Lounge Chairs, Jacques Adnet
By Hermès, Jacques Adnet
Located in New York, NY
An Elegant Pair of Italian Mid-Century Modern Bamboo, Rattan and hand-Stitched cowhide leather lounge chairs in the style of the French master, Jacques Adnet and Hermes. The chairs a...
Leather, Bamboo, Rattan
Jacques Adnet Leather Chair
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning chair by French designer Jacques Adnet. Black iron frame with black leather seat and seat back. Chair sits on brass feet and features a triangular support under the seat whi...
Iron
Rocking-Chair by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Black sellier Stitche Leather Rocking Chair By Jacques Adnet very Good Condition
Leather
Sold
H 35.83 in W 29.53 in D 31.89 in
Jacques Adnet leather mohair velvet rocking chair with ottoman 1950
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Paris, IDF
Superb rocking chair and ottoman in leather and mohair velvet by Jacques Adnet dating from the early 1950s. This set is characteristic of Adnet's work, soft saddle-stitched leather d...
Brass