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.
Bronze Mounted Circular Low Table, by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Bronze mounted circular low table, by Jules Leleu. Rosewood inlaid top having floral and butterfly inlays in a variety of woods and abalone, circa 1925. Measures: Height 17 5/8 in....
Wood
French Art Deco Table By Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu, Paul Follot, Maison Dominique, Sue et Mare, 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
Louis XV Style Kingwood and Gilt Bronze Two-Tier Tea Table
Located in Montreal, QC
Louis XV style kingwood trellis parquetry two-tier tea table with twin handled rectangular trays, the serpentine borders banded in gilt bronze over ta...
Ormolu
$2,975
H 29.93 in W 27.76 in D 15.56 in
19th Century Spanish Hand Carved Card Foldable Table with Bronze Mounts
Located in Miami, FL
19th Century Spanish Hand Carved Card Table with Bronze Mounts and red carpet. The bronze ashtrays are removable
Bronze
Jules Leleu Low Rosewood Coffee Table
By Jules Leleu
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Modernist Art Deco low coffee/side table by Jules Leleu, circa 1930, in rosewood. 31.5" diameter x 21" high. Documented in Interieurs d’Aujourd ‘Hui. JULES-EMILE LELEU (...
Rosewood
$2,400
H 25.5 in W 23.5 in D 17 in
Mid-Century Modern Italian Brass Serving Table with Glass Tops, 1960
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian side, sofa table made of hand crafted brass, in good condition. The serving, tea table is composed with two tier glass tops, supported by four ro...
Metal, Brass
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
$5,975
H 31.11 in W 36.62 in D 36.62 in
19th Century French Ebonized Folding Card Table with Bronze Mounts
Located in Miami, FL
19th century Marquetry card table, the rectangular top centered with an inlaid cartouche and musical instruments, within swept foliate inlay, the top opening to a baize lined playing...
Bronze
Contemporary Bronze Side Table, Low Brazier by Rick Owens
By Rick Owens
Located in Warsaw, PL
Contemporary bronze side table - low brazier by Rick Owens 2007 Dimensions: L 42 x W 42 x H 25 cm Materials: bronze Weight: 18.5 kg ...
Bronze
$44,000 / set
H 21.5 in W 14.5 in D 12.5 in
Jules Leleu, Pair of Two-Tiered Circular Side Tables, France, c. 1933
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
This pair of two-tiered, mirror topped side tables are notable for their combination of materials (walnut and mirrored glass), as well as a daring assemblage of shapes — three dimens...
Mirror, Walnut
Jules Leleu Low Round Table
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
A Jules Leleu rosewood and chromium-plated metal and glass low table. Literature: Viviane Jutheau, Jules and Andre Leleu, 1989, page 75 for a similar...
Brass
$95,000
H 30 in W 56 in D 32 in
Fantastic Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Center Table by François Linke
By François Linke
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Fantastic Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Louis XV Style Kingwood Center Table By François Linke François Linke With serpentine-grey and yellow marble top, above a frieze ...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Hollywood Regency Ebony Game, Card Table, Louis XVI Style, Bronze Mounted
Located in Stamford, CT
This exquisite Hollywood Regency style ebony game or card table is a stunning blend of style and functionality. One side features a beautifully finished checkerboard top, perfect for...
Bronze