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 Leather and Oak Bench / Storage Chest, 1950s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning and rare Jacques Adnet storage bench in green leather and solid oak. Heavy and well built, strong enough to hold multiple people sitting on it and very roomy inside to place...
Metal, Brass
$2,113Sale Price|20% Off
H 24.41 in W 54.73 in D 21.66 in
18th Century Chest or Coffer Carved Oak, End of Bed French Provincial
Located in Labrit, Landes
Coffer or chest French 18th century carved oak French Provincial country house Very decorative and full of character Decorated with geometrical and vegetal motifs This chest has the ...
Oak
Vintage-Style Pearl Leather Trunk Bench
Located in Westwood, NJ
Vintage-style pearl leather trunk bench. A fully functional trunk that hinges open to reveal storage. The padded leather exterior makes it a great bench ...
Leather, Wood
$3,764
H 21.66 in W 55.52 in D 20.08 in
Spanish Chest or Coffer Carved Walnut, End of Bed 18th Century
Located in Labrit, Landes
This antique Spanish walnut chest showcases remarkable carved workmanship typical of traditional Iberian craftsmanship. Main characteristics: The facade is divided into three ornate ...
Wrought Iron
$1,051
H 13.78 in W 28.75 in D 13.59 in
1900 Little Rustic Chest or Coffer Gothic Carved Oak & Wrought Iron, French
Located in Labrit, Landes
French coffer or chest made circa 1900. Decorated with carved flowers style. The design of this chest is deliberately rustic. The interior is lined with fabric. Very decorative and ...
Wrought Iron
Unavailable|$3,190 / item
H 16.25 in W 48 in D 15 in
Coracle Bench with Storage, White Oak and eco-friendly Vegetable Tanned Leather
By Jake Whillans
Located in HAMILTON, ON
Inspired by ancient fishing vessels, the Coracle bench features a half hide of English bridle leather remarkably formed and stretched by hand about a fra...
Leather, Wood, Oak
Pine and Oak Storage Bench or Settle
Located in Baltimore, MD
What an outstanding Box Bench! The oak and the pine contrast beautifully to create a deep rich warmth perfect for this piece. For most of its length the top rail is flat, only follo...
Oak, Pine
Lane Cedar Lined Cherry Upholstered Storage Bench Blanket Chest
By Lane Furniture
Located in Germantown, MD
A Lane Altavista Cedar Lined Cherry upholstered seat storage bench or blanket chest in good vintage condition. Panelized front with two faux drawers mounte...
Brass
$12,000
H 24 in W 55.75 in D 20 in
English Oak Jacobean Three Carved Panel Diamond & Pinwheel Hinged Coffer, C 1720
Located in Charleston, SC
English oak Jacobean hinged coffer with a carved molded edge top, three decorative carved panels consisting of pinwheels, diamonds, foliage motif and resting on the original squared ...
Wrought Iron
$1,144Sale Price|20% Off
H 10.63 in W 20.87 in D 13.39 in
19th Century Little Chest or Coffer Teak, English
Located in Labrit, Landes
English coffer or chest made in the 19th century probably in India. The many brass parts give this item a unique style. The numerous compartments in the upper part, as well as the ...
Brass
Storage Bench Decorated with Elephants
Located in Kastrup, DK
Artistic storage bench, naïve and charming in its design. Shape of elephants in amber lacquer between elephants, at the end decorated with vases and flow...
Wood
Unavailable|$3,190 / item
H 16.25 in W 48 in D 15 in
Coracle Bench with Storage, Blackened White Oak and Leather
By Jake Whillans
Located in HAMILTON, ON
Inspired by ancient fishing vessels, the Coracle bench features a half hide of English bridle leather remarkably formed and stretched by hand about a fra...
Leather, Wood, Oak
$5,690
H 35.44 in W 44.1 in D 21.66 in
18th Century Spanish Baroque Hand Carved Chest Trunk or Console Table
Located in Miami, FL
Nice 18th century chest in walnut. Hand carved facade panel with heads decorations. Plinth with brace decorations, dovetail assembly with wrought iron wardware. Add a real show stopp...
Iron