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
Art Deco Wall Console by Jules Leleu, Signed, Wood and Thick Glass, circa 1935
By Jules Leleu
Located in Miami, FL
Elegant wall-mounted console by Jules Leleu, combining a streamlined architectural silhouette with luxurious materials typical of French Art Deco. The design features two substantial...
Glass, Fruitwood
$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
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
Art Deco Style Lacqured Wall Console and Mirror
Located in Pomona, CA
Art Deco-style lacquered wall console and mirror. The mirror has purple and gold gilding on the top. The console has the same colors and style. The console has a heavy composition co...
Lacquer
French Art Deco Table By Jules Leleu
By Maison Dominique, Jean Dunand, Paul Follot, Jules Leleu, Eugene Printz
Located in Houston, TX
French Art Deco Table By Jules Leleu. Offered is a gorgeous 1930's era French Art Deco sycamore table trimmed in stunning bronze accents and sabots and topped with a beautiful gold e...
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
$5,520Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 28.35 in W 45.28 in D 11.42 in
Art Deco Modernist Pair of Console Tables by Kristian Krass, France 1935
By Christian Krass
Located in Saarbruecken, DE
Art Deco Pair of Console Tables by Kristian Krass, France 1935. high quality fully restored. high gloss lacquer, hand polished. chrome details in perfect condition. documentatation s...
Chrome
Maison Charles Neoclassical Bronze 2 patina Console
By Maison Charles
Located in Miami, FL
Maison Charles Neoclassical 2 patina , bronze and gun metal Console.
Brass, Bronze, Steel
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
Fine French Art Deco Palisander Game Table by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Long Island City, NY
With a removable and reversible top, one side featuring a marquetry chess / checker board, and the other covered in felt (felt to be replaced), two drawers, and fine bronze details. ...
Bronze
Jules Leleu French Art Deco Bedside Nightstand
By Jules Leleu
Located in Forney, TX
A rare French Art Deco sycamore inlaid nightstand or end table attributed to Jules Leleu (1883-1961). Handcrafted in France in the mid 20th century, having a shaped front rectangular...
Sycamore
Fine Art Deco Coffee Table by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
Jules Leleu (1883-1961). A modernist French Art Deco mirrored table, created circa 1936. In sycamore, with gilt bronze accents. Signed and referenced in "Mobilier et Decorati...
Brass
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