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 Sideboard in Oak, Stitched Leather and Ceramic by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
A Rare French Midcentury Modern hand stitched leather and ceramic top sideboard by Jacques Adnet, circa 1955. Adnet had a rare talent for creating works that had used exquisite for...
Ceramic, Leather, Oak
Art Deco Rosewood Cabintet/Sideboard by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Miami, FL
An Elegant Art Deco Rosewood buffet/sideboard with three drawers in the center with nickel handles and 2 doors on each side with shelves inside designed by Jacques Adnet. Jacques Ad...
Nickel
$3,779Sale Price|20% Off
H 29.53 in W 76.19 in D 17.72 in
Lovely Harrods Flamed Hardwood and Green Leather Military Campaign Sideboard
By Harrods
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to this lovely vintage Harrods London flamed mahogany with green leather gold leaf tooled doors, Military Campaign sideboard with drawers A very well made and decor...
Leather, Hardwood
$48,500
H 36.25 in W 73 in D 20 in
Fine Art Deco Mahogany and Rosewood Sideboard Buffet by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare and elegant mahogany and rosewood Art Deco buffet by Jules Leleu inset with mother of pearl floral motifs and gilt-bronze mounts. Impressed mark and number to reverse 'C A' an...
Mahogany
19th Century English Oak Sideboard
Located in High Point, NC
19th century oak sideboard from England with a beveled edge around the top, following down to paneled sides and two drawers in the front with raised geometric panels, flanked by hand...
Oak
$9,500
H 37.41 in W 76.78 in D 20.87 in
Fine French Art Deco Mahogany Sideboard by Albert Guenot for "Atelier Pomone"
By Albert-Lucien Guenot
Located in Long Island City, NY
Albert-Lucien Guénot (1894-1993): A fine French Art Deco sideboard with 2 doors, 4 carved drawers, and patinated bronze legs and knobs. Edited by "Atelier Pomone" for "le Bon Marché...
Bronze
Italian Art Deco Sideboard, Ebonized Wood & Vellum, 1940
Located in New York, NY
An Italian Art Deco period elegant sideboard, with 6 drawers comprising the vellum front, each drawer opened with strikingly shaped brass handles. The ebonized wood case contrasts be...
Brass
Modern Black Cerused Oak Sideboard Buffet
Located in North York, ON
Modern black cerused oak sideboard buffet. Featuring a dark ebonized black ceruse finish with contrasting white grains. Doors open with sleek pus...
Oak
Modern Cerused Oak Sideboard Buffet in Natural Wash Finish
Located in North York, ON
Modern Cerused oak sideboard Buffet in natural wash finish. Featuring natural whitewash ceruse finish with contrasting white grains. Doors open with slee...
Oak
William & Mary Oak Sideboard
Located in Sheffield, MA
18th century William & Mary oak sideboard with four drawers, two smaller cabinet beneath and a larger on the side. The chest displays all the features associated with the era the geo...
Oak
Monumental Antique French Art Deco Sideboard/Buffet, Circa 1930s
Located in Chino Hills, CA
A striking French Art Deco sideboard dating to the 1930s, originally imported from France by its previous owner. This substantial statement piece features dramatic, richly figured wo...
Wood
Oak Art Deco French Buffet Sideboard 1930s-1940s
By Charles Dudouyt, Gaston Poisson
Located in London, London
This sideboard is a stunning blend of Art Deco and Brutalist design elements from the 1930s to 1940s. It is crafted from oak, showcasing the natural beauty and strength of the wood w...
Oak
$3,800
H 37.75 in W 102.5 in D 19.75 in
Fine French 1950s Sycamore and Rosewood Sideboard with Original Painted Doors
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Fine French Mid-Century rosewood and sycamore sideboard with original four painted doors and brass details.
Brass
Art Deco Macassar Sideboard Cabinet 1940’s France
Located in North York, ON
This exquisite 1940’s French Art Deco sideboard is crafted from luxurious Macassar ebony, finished in a hand-polished high-gloss that dramatically highlights its striking grain. Its ...
Brass
French Art Deco Oak Sideboard, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
This French Art Deco sideboard from the 1940s is a striking example of sculptural woodworking and bold geometric composition. Crafted from solid oak, its design is defined by intrica...
Oak
$10,920Sale Price|35% Off
H 76 in W 78.5 in D 27 in
Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese Buffet Sideboard
By Portois & Fix
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting an amazingly rare piece of Art Deco furniture by an exceptionally rare maker, namely, an Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese buffet sideboard. Part of a complete Dining Room Set comprising of 3 pieces – this Buffet/Sideboard, Tall Case Clock ands Credenza. All in our Inventory but being sold separately (or together if you have a desire to own the complete set which you will NEVER be in a position to do again). Made in Vienna, Austria circa 1920-30 by the famous furniture maker of Portois & Fix. The piece consists of a Buffet or Sideboard with glass display pillars...
Brass
Art Deco Sideboard Attributed to Eliel Saarinen
By Eliel Saarinen
Located in Atlanta, GA
Rare sideboard attributed to Eliel Saarinen (father of Eero Saarinen) designed before his immigration to the United States. In a style that we now refer to as "Art Deco," this style was considered the "National Romantic Style" in Finland essentially a twist on what became known worldwide as Art Deco with its strong vertical lines and medieval references. The workmanship of this cabinet and its materials is magnificent. Note the carefully matched panels of golden masurbjork (birch root), the intricate carvings of medieval knights (very similar to those guarding Saarinen's Helsinki Railway Station built in 1906) and the high contrast of golden and dark birch wood seen again in Saarinen's furniture designed in the United States in the late 1920s. While Saarinen's son Eero went on to become the more famous of the two, it was Eliel who could be considered the grandfather of Nordic Art Deco...
Birch, Burl