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.
$11,000 / set
Jules Leleu Pair of French Art Deco Side Tables
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
A pair of French Art Deco side tables, circa 1930s signed LELEU, in rosewood with mother of pearl inlaid.
Rosewood
French Midcentury Rosewood End Table by Jules Leleu, 1940s
By Jules Leleu
Located in Queens, NY
French midcentury rosewood round end table with a floral inlaid top of mother of pearl and ebony supported on three scroll legs connected with a stretcher base (JULES LELEU). Jules...
Rosewood, Glass
$9,300Sale Price|33% Off
Jules Leleu Documented Coffee Table in Mahogany and Brass, France, c 1957
By Jules Leleu
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This exquisite coffee table by Jules Leleu was executed in circa 1957 France, in Mahogany with patinated metal stretchers, brass accents and a antiqued mirrored glass top. Documented in Leleu Decorateurs Ensembliers by Francoise Siriex, the underside is impressed with Maison Leleu inventory numbers '29090'. Jules Leleu first opened Maison Leleu, a Paris gallery, in 1924 and won a grand prize at the 1925 Exposition Industrielle et Arts Decoratifs. Later, Leleu designed the Grand Salon of the Ambassadors at the Society of Nations in Geneva and the French Embassies of several nations and the SS Ile de France...
Brass
$3,400 / set
H 22 in W 18 in D 21 in
Pair of Art Deco Burl Wood End Tables Nightstands with Brass Hardware Pulls
By Gilbert Rohde
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Pair of very nice Mid-Century Modern or Art Deco end tables in burl walnut with brass hardware.
Brass
French Art Deco Table By Jules Leleu
By Eugene Printz, Jules Leleu, Maison Dominique, Jean Dunand, Paul Follot
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
Dudouyt Pedestal End Table, France 1940's
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in New York, NY
Quad footed pedestal table with a large diameter ringed stem and a parqueted top.
Walnut
$2,292
H 20.87 in W 41.34 in D 33.47 in
Romeo Rega Italian Coffee Table in Brass and Chrome Smoked Glass Lucite 1970s
By Romeo Rega
Located in Roma, IT
Mid-Century solid brass and chromed coffee table with smoked glass top and amethyst Lucite blocks. This fantastic object was desi...
Brass, Chrome
French Art Deco Period Jules Leleu Manner Burlwood Work Table
By Jules Leleu
Located in Forney, TX
A visually striking Art Deco period inlaid burlwood travailleuse / work table, in the manner of iconic French designer Jules Leleu (Paris, France, 1883-1961) France, circa 1930s, ex...
Brass
Bronze Occasional Table, C. France, 1940s
By Maison Jansen
Located in Westport, CT
Elegant 1940s French occasional table executed in solid bronze, showcasing a refined Streamline Moderne silhouette. The sculptural tripod base features gracefully arched legs joined ...
Bronze
$828
H 16.15 in W 14.18 in D 22.05 in
Romeo Rega style Coffee Table in Brass and Smoked Glass, Italy, 1970s Midcentury
By Romeo Rega
Located in Roma, IT
Elegant coffee table in brass, smoked glass adds to the seductive elegance of this midcentury piece. Measurements: 56 x 36 H 41.
Brass
$14,211Sale Price|25% Off
H 22.25 in W 19.89 in D 9.06 in
Pair of Art Déco Bedside Tables by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Roma, IT
A splendid pair of Art Dèco bedside tables realized by Jules Leleu in 1923. Amboyna burl veneer, Breccia marble tops, and brass or bone knobs. A refined and sculptural pair of Art ...
Mahogany
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
H 22 in W 26 in D 18 in
Tole Painted Italian Lidded End Table Marblized End Papers 1940s/50s
Located in Camden, ME
This rare and whimsical Italian end table, crafted in the 1940s–50s, takes the imaginative form of a stack of antique books, rendered in hand-painted tole. With its lively palette of...
Tôle, Tin
$5,409 / set
H 25.6 in W 17.33 in D 14.97 in
Fine Pair of Antique French Art Deco Hardwood & Marble Topped Bedside Tables
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this exquisite pair of original French Art Deco circa 1920 mahogany marble topped side end or bedside tables These are very good looking well-made and decorative pair, they are beautifully sculpted with flowing lines, the tops are solid marble and really elevate the pair We have cleaned waxed and polished them from top to bottom, there will be normal age and use related patina marks here and there from genuine age and honest use. Dimensions Height:- 65cm Width:- 44cm Depth:- 38cm Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point. This item is available for collection from our Pulborough warehouses RH20 1DF. A privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine luxury antique leather seating...
Marble
French Art Deco Dining Table in Rosewood, Jules Leleu, 1930s
By Jules Leleu
Located in Astoria, NY
Exceptional French Art Deco dining table, sourced directly from Paris, circa 1930s. Sourced directly from Paris, this table reflects the refined craftsmanship and modernist elegance ...
Metal
French Art Deco Coffee Table in the Style of Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in North Bergen, NJ
This amazing French Art Deco coffee table with mother-of-pearl inlay detail is in the style of famous French artist Jules Leleu. The marquetry is spectacular with butterfly details. ...
Sold
H 25 in W 15.75 in D 15.5 in
2 Fine French Art Deco Mahogany and Rosewood Side Tables by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Long Island City, NY
Two fine French Art Deco side tables by Jules Leleu with a solid mahogany base and a rosewood veneered top. Stamped. Dimensions: Bigger one is H 25" x W 15 3/4" x D 15 1/2" Smaller...
Mahogany, Rosewood
French Midcentury 1930s Ceruse Oak End/Side Table
By Jules Leleu
Located in Queens, NY
French midcentury 1930s bleached ceruse oak end or side table with a round sunburst design top resting on a four-panel pedestal base with bronze sabot feet (LELEU). Jules Leleu was ...
Bronze
Four-Leaf Clover Table
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Burled walnut, glass top and bone rings.
Jules Leleu, Rare Coffee Table, France, 1930
By Jules Leleu
Located in Encino, CA
Jules Leleu (1883-1961). Very rare and Fine Art Deco two tiered rectangular burled amboyna veneer side table by Jules Leleu, France, circa 1930. The table is stamped. The table ha...
Burl, Amboyna
Pair of Side Tables by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Pair of tables designed by Jules Leu, circa 1960s. Numbered.
Iron
Two Tiered Walnut Side Table by Maison Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Two tiered side table in walnut with gun metal patinated legs and gilt-bronze sabots, by Leleu
Ormolu
Jules Leleu, Mahogany Art Deco Side Table, France, C. 1930
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Fine early Art Deco two-tiered flamed mahogany side table by Jules Leleu (1883-1961) Illustrated in Mobilier et Décoration 1931, p. 490 and p. 491 (Interiors of the Comtesse de Ma...
Mahogany
Jules Leleu Pair of French Art Deco Side Tables
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
A pair of French Art Deco side tables, circa 1930s signed LELEU, in rosewood with mother-of-pearl inlaid.
Rosewood
Pair of French Art Deco Mirrored Tables by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
A pair of French Art Deco side tables stamped Jules Leleu, in mahogany wood and featuring two circular mirrored shelves.
Mahogany