A designer and ensemblier, Jules Leleu was one of the key authors of the Art Deco movement. While he did not win the fame of such contemporaries as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank, Leleu had a longer career and was easily their peer in the conception of trim, refined furniture forms and in the use of the opulent materials — from lacquer and ivory to sharkskin and exotic woods — that were a keynote of haute Art Deco design.
Leleu was born into a family of artisans and decorators. Their firm, Maison Leleu, had existed since the 18th century and Jules would guide it through much of the 20th. (The business lasted until 1973, headed at the end by Jules's children.) He studied architecture, served as an aviator in World War I, and after the conflict took up design full-time.
Leleu presented work at the 1925 exposition in Paris that gave us the term Art Deco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purchased a burl amboyna wood commode by Leleu directly from the show.
As the desks, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs show, Leleu was a stickler for precision craft and preferred to let his materials do the talking — his furniture is generally spare and sleek; its presence is established by figuring (or patterning/graining) in the wood and the occasional marquetry medallion. He had a keen eye for currents in design and an adaptable sensibility.
Maison Leleu would embrace many of the starker forms of modernism after the 1940s, as well as new materials such as artificial lacquer and plastics (then considered cutting-edge rather than cheap). Jules Leleu is a guiding light of 20th-century modernism: a man whose work represents both a devotion to traditional handiwork and an appreciation for the next wave in design.
Find Jules Leleu tables, sideboards, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Art Deco Hand-Knotted Wool Rug by Jules Leleu, France, 1920
By Jules Leleu
Located in West Hollywood, CA
This traditional handwoven French Leleu deco rug has an overall eu-de-nil field with a profusion of delicate tiles checkered with alternating geometric icons, in a majestic turquoise...
Wool
French Art Deco Rug in the Style of Jules Leleu
By Andre Domin & Marcel Genevriere for Maison Dominique, Maurice Dufrêne, André Arbus, Jules Leleu, Paul Follot
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful French Art Deco carpet/modernist carpet with great geometric design and fantastic colors (cream, black, lavender, purple, blue, and green.) This great French Art Deco geometric rug...
Wool
Cogolin art deco rug hand-knotted in wool, France
By Cogolin
Located in Firenze, FI
Cogolin Art Deco hand-knotted wool rug, made in France, size 165 cm. x 96 cm. Main Features: • Material: Highest quality wool, soft to the touch and durable, ideal for daily use wit...
Wool, Cotton
Antique English Needlepoint Rug, Hand-Knotted Wool, Floral, 1920
Located in Norwalk, CT
A hand-knotted antique English Needlepoint rug with a floral allover design. This rug measures 4'1" x 7'1".
Wool
Art Deco French Aubusson Rug by Rene Joubert and DIM, 1920
By René Joubert and Philippe Petit, D.I.M. Decoration Intérieure Moderne
Located in New York, NY
Art Deco French Aubusson rug by Rene Joubert and DIM, 1920 France, circa 1920 Designed by Rene Joubert Woven by Decoration Interieure Moderne (DIM).
Wool
French Art Deco Hand Knotted Wool Rug, circa 1930
By DIM
Located in Brussels, BE
An early 20th century little Art Deco antique rug, circa 1930, France. Hand-knotted wool. Symetrical and geometric lines and patterns in luminous shades of pink, red, blue, beige a...
Wool
Doris Leslie Blau Vintage French Art Deco Rug by Paule Leleu
By Paule Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Vintage French Art Deco Rug by Paule Leleu Size: 6'10" × 11'7" (208 × 353 cm) An exceptional example of post-war French textile design, this vintage rug by Paule Leleu—daughter of th...
Wool
Big Size Rug Art Deco Signed A.Leleu
By Maison Leleu
Located in Bruxelles, BE
Very big size rug Art Deco by A LELEU with an Aztec design . The rug dated from the ‘70 or ‘80 . Very contemporary design Completely washed and with a new fabric on the underside...
Wool
Signed Vintage Leleu French Art Deco Circle Rug in White and Blue - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Made with hand-knotted wool in France circa 1940-1950, this 7x7 vintage French Art Deco rug is an extremely collectible mid-century circle rug from Leleu Decorateur—the work of an ic...
Wool
French Art Deco Wool Rug Monogrammed AF 1930's
Located in Milan, IT
Woven in a range of shades of beige and brown, this Art Deco rug is distinguished by an abstract arrangement of intersecting planes with other geometric devices, a design that is cha...
Wool
Modern Art Deco Inspired Hand Knotted Wool Rug by Doris Leslie Blau
Located in New York, NY
Modern Art Deco inspired hand knotted wool rug by Doris Leslie Blau. Size: 12'2" × 14'9" (370 × 449 cm). A modern, hand knotted wool rug inspired by Art Deco style. The design truly ...
Wool
Signed Leleu Vintage French Art Deco Circle Rug with Medallion - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Made with hand-knotted wool in France circa 1950, this 6x6 vintage French Art Deco rug is an extremely collectible mid-century circle rug from Leleu Decorateur—the work of an iconic ...
Wool
$4,130Sale Price|30% Off
W 75 in L 103 in
Vintage French Area Rug, Hand-Knotted Wool, Geometric Design, 1920s
Located in Barrington, IL
This exquisite vintage French area rug, dating from the first quarter of the 20th century, features a striking allover geometric design hand-knotted in a sophisticated palette of pal...
Wool, Cotton
Antique Round Art Deco Carpet by Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Magnificent antique red color round French Art Deco Leleu rug.
Wool
Antique Square French Art Deco Rug by Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Magnificent antique green color square French Art Deco rug by Leleu, country of origin / rug type: French rug, circa date: 1920 – this beautiful Fr...
Wool
Antique Round French Art Deco Rug by Leleu. Size: 13 ft x 13 ft
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Magnificent and luxurious antique round French Art Deco rug by Leleu, country of origin / rug type: French rug, circa date: 1920. Size: 13 ft x 13 ft (3.96 m x 3.96 m). This exquisi...
Wool
Round Antique French Art Deco Rug by Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Art Deco rugs, the deco period was an international design movement from 1920s-1940s. It produced a mix of many different styles borrowing design influences from neoclassical, constr...
Wool
Mid-20th Century Handmade French Moderne Accent Rug by Leleu
By Paule Leleu, Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
A vintage French Moderne accent carpet handmade during the mid-20th century and designed by Leleu.
Wool