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.
Maison Leleu, Marble & Bronze Console, France, circa 1961
By Jules Leleu, Andre Leleu
Located in New York, NY
An elegantly pared down console with delicate crossing legs in gunmetal bronze, which, in supporting its marble top gives the piece the appearance of weightlessness. Bibliography: T...
Marble, Bronze, Steel
$2,963Sale Price|24% Off
H 34.25 in W 54 in D 12 in
Maison Jansen Style Neoclassical Black & Gold Console Bronze Beveled Marble Top
By Maison Jansen
Located in Miami, FL
Superb black & gold console table in the style of Maison Jansen. Features 4 ebonized turned wood pedestal base with gold gallerie decoration. Th...
Marble
Fine Bronze Marble Top Demilune Console Table
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Heavy gold tone bronze marble top Demilune console hanging table.
Marble, Bronze
$24,000 / set
H 37.75 in W 27.5 in D 11 in
French Maison Jansen Pair of Feather Consoles, Plaster and Wood Base, Marble Top
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Rare pair of French wall-mounted console table tables with feather-form wood and plaster gilt bases and red marble tops. The 3-feather shape is a tribute to the Prince of Wales's her...
Marble
French Verdigris Bronze + Black Marble Wall-Mounted Console, 1940s
Located in Chicago, IL
A 1940s verdigris bronze console sourced in the South of France, topped with a honed black marble slab threaded with rich ochre and ivory veining. The base is formed from hand-forged...
Marble, Bronze
Pair of French Oak Consoles with Marble Tops, Circa 1900
Located in High Point, NC
Pair of oak consoles from France with marble tops. The tops are scalloped around the edge to mirror the bases. The bases have gorgeous hand carv...
Marble
$6,000
H 29 in W 54 in D 15.25 in
Louis XVI, Hollywood Regency, Bronze, Marble, Ebonized Console, France, 1930s
By Maison Jansen
Located in Stamford, CT
Louis XVI, Hollywood Regency, Mahogany, Bronze, Marble, Ebonized Console, France, 1930s A Hollywood Regency style ebonized console designed and produced in France c. 1930s. This exa...
Bronze
French Louis XVI Style Console Marble Top, Brass & Bronze
Located in Senonches, Centre-Val de Loire
French Louis XVI style Mahogany console topped with a white Carrara marble, decorated by a gilt brass openwork gallery and bronze elements. A wooden lower shelf between legs finished with golden bronze clogs. Perfect in an entryway, or to create a small whiskey bar...
Carrara Marble
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
H 29 in W 51.25 in D 20 in
Maison Charles Style Brass Horse and Steel Verdi Marble Console Table circa 1970
By Maison Charles
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This Maison Charles Style Brass Horse and Steel Verdi Marble Console Table, circa 1970, is a striking example of mid-20th century French design that perfectly blends luxury with mode...
Marble, Brass, Steel
Patinated Wood and Marble Console, France, circa 1950
By Maison Jansen
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Patinated wood and marble console, France, circa 1950. Attributed to Maison Jansen.
Marble
$14,895
H 35.5 in W 78 in D 18.5 in
Large French Modern Neoclassical Painted Wood & Marble Console by Maison Jansen
By Maison Jansen
Located in New York, NY
A Rare and Sophisticated Large French Mid-Century console / sofa table by Maison Jansen, circa 1940, in the Modern Neoclassical tradition with a polychromed base and an elegant marbl...
Marble
French Gilt Carved Wood Original Marble Top Console, Circa 1790
Located in Charleston, SC
French gilt carved wood original marble top console with articulated carved skirt, fluted legs, and laurel wreath with twisted rope. Late 18th century
Marble
$11,200 / set
H 28.25 in W 37.5 in D 16 in
Elegant Pair of French Maison Jansen Steel Bronze & Glass Console Tables
By Maison Jansen
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Exquisite vintage pair of French Maison Jansen steel, bronze and glass consoles having the classic X stretchers with central acorn finial.
Bronze, Steel
Sold
H 35.5 in W 55 in D 12 in
Art Deco Directoire Walnut & Bronze Wall Mounted Console Table by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
This elegant and beautifully proportioned Art Deco Wall Mounted Console Table in Book-Matched Walnut With Bronze fittings , Sabots ...
Bronze
Jules Leleu Console
By Jules Leleu
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Classic French Art Deco console in ash and ash veneers. Presented at the 1927 Salon des Artistes Decorateurs in Paris. Pictured in the SAD portfolio.
Demi-Lune Wall Mounted Console with Mirrored Top by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Demi-lune console in mahogany with a mirrored top by Jules Leleu
Mahogany, Mirror
Narrow Wall Mounted Console Table by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Palm Desert, CA
An elegant doré bronze and antique brass console table with a green marble top by Jules Leleu. The console table has three pairs of fluted ...
Bronze
Stunning Pair of Leleu Pedestal Consoles
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Jules Leleu ( 1883-1961) Pair of rare and stunning sculptural pedestal consoles in ebonized wood with black glass inset tops. France, late 1940's 33.5 x 13.5 x 35 H
Wood, Glass
Art Deco Demi-Lune Console by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Art Deco demi-lune console by Jules Leleu Walnut with marble top
Marble
Rosewood Parquetry Cabinet by Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Unusual half-moon one-door rosewood parquetry Cabinet by Leleu
Bibliography:
A reminiscent half-moon Console is illustrated ...
Marble, Pewter