Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Geometric Straw Marquetry Box attributed to Jean Michel Frank, circa 1930

About the Item

This elegant straw marquetry decorative lidded box has its design attributed to French designer Jean Michel Frank (1895 - 1941). The long rectangular shape has a refined geometric design, and the interior is lined with cork. There is no visible maker's mark. The box is unsigned but similar in size and pattern to Jean-Michel Frank boxes, including the ones pictured in the Jean-Michel Frank book (check the reference below for further reading). This rare collectible piece has lots of presence and elegance. Reference: - Léopold Diego Sanchez, "Jean-Michel Frank", Editions du regard, Paris, 1980. Similar marquetry boxes are on page 80. - Galerie Jacques De Vos, "Aux sources du XXe Siècle - Jean Michel Frank - Volume 2", Paris 1990 (texts in French and English). Similar marquetry boxes are on page 109, along with a precious explanation of the partnership developed by Jean Michel Frank with Adolphe Chanaux on page 108. Dimensions: 6.88 in long (17.5 cm) x 5.13 in wide (13 cm) x 1.19 in high (3 cm). Note: Jean-Michel Frank (28 February 1895 – 8 March 1941) was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but elegant furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry. He had an eye for exotic patterns, specifically in veneers, including snake and sharkskin. His work became widely known in the 1930s when select, higher classes demanded his furniture. He is known for being associated with the Art Deco movement. Frank sought to design uncluttered spaces, featuring neutral color schemes with exotic patterns. His idea of simplicity extended to everything, including his wardrobe, where he owned forty of the same gray flannel shirts. Frank drew inspiration from Ancient Egypt, Louis XVI, and the Art Deco movement. "The noble frames that have come to us from the past can receive today's creations," Jean Michel Frank. Frank worked with many designers and artists, such as Christian Berard, Emilio Terry, Salvador Dali, and Diego Giacometti. In the 1920s, Frank and Adolphe Chanaux, a Parisian decorator, met and inaugurated a collaboration that launched them into the center of Parisian artistic life. Frank and Chanaux searched for balance and developed a classic expression of spaces. Together, they decorated apartments for Jean-Pierre Guerlain, Marie-Laure de Noailles, and Louis Aragon. In 1924, Jean Rene Guerrand appointed Frank to design a unique collection of pieces of furniture. Part of this collection was the sheepskin Club Chair and Parchment-Covered Dressing Table. Reports from refugees about the persecution of homosexuals and Jews prompted Jean-Michel Frank to leave Paris in 1940. By way of Lisbon, he emigrated to Buenos Aires. In Argentina, Jean-Michel Frank collaborated with his longtime friend and business partner, Ignacio Pirovano, on various private and business endeavors. Alberto Giacometti also collaborated with Frank to create terracotta objects such as floor lamps, vases, candle holders, and table lamps. Frank was troubled by loss, depression, drug addiction, homophobic taunts, and anti-Semitism all his life. On 8 March 1941, while in New York City, he committed suicide at 46. Despite claims that Frank died by throwing himself from the window of the Manhattan apartment he was staying in, he overdosed on barbiturates. Maarten van Buuren, Jean Michel Frank's biographer and a professor of modern literature at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, confirmed this when reading Frank's autopsy report and death certificate. Today, leading designers worldwide recognize Jean Michel Frank as one of the essential sources of inspiration for many contemporary designs. His works are highly sought after by collectors worldwide. (Credit: Wikipedia).
  • Attributed to:
    Jean-Michel Frank (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 1.19 in (3.03 cm)Width: 6.88 in (17.48 cm)Depth: 5.13 in (13.04 cm)
  • Style:
    Art Deco (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1930
  • Condition:
    The box is in good condition. The original cork inside was damaged and replaced with a similar natural cork material. The rest of the box, both outside and underside, is in its original condition, with minor cosmetic wear on the straw.
  • Seller Location:
    Atlanta, GA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 6V026CFADBG1stDibs: LU1632244071632

More From This Seller

View All
Jean Michel Frank Geometric Straw Marquetry Box, France circa 1930
By Jean-Michel Frank
Located in Atlanta, GA
This rare Art Deco straw marquetry lidded box is attributed to French designer Jean Michel Frank. The piece was crafted in France circa 1930. The rectangular shape is stunning, refin...
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw

French Art Deco Geometric Marquetry Wood Box
By Studio Art Deco
Located in Atlanta, GA
This stunning ornamental lidded box with a marquetry design was made in France around the 1930s. It has a distinctive raised design with a rectangular body and is composed of lacquer...
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Montagnani Gilded and Marquetry Box, circa 1970
By Montagnani
Located in Atlanta, GA
Montagnani Firenze, Italy designed this luxury decorative box. The piece was crafted in Italy circa 1970. Its Mid-Century modernist form boasts an elongated rectangular flat shape, w...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal, Brass

French Art Deco Geometric Metal and Wood Box, 1930s
By Studio Art Deco
Located in Atlanta, GA
This is a beautifully decorative lidded box with a modernist design crafted in France circa the 1930s. It follows the typical Art Deco style with a minimalist rectangular shape and i...
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal, Chrome

Montagnani Marquetry and Gilt Brass Box, Italy circa 1970
By Montagnani
Located in Atlanta, GA
Montagnani Firenze designed this sophisticated decorative box, which was crafted in Italy circa 1970. Its Mid-Century modernist design boasts an elongated rectangular flat shape, wit...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Early Original R & Y Augousti Paris Seashell Marquetry Box
By R & Y Augousti
Located in Atlanta, GA
This is an early original lidded box designed by the famed decorative arts design firm Ria & Youri Augousti, Paris. The elegant piece boasts geometric seashell marquetry with trim ac...
Category

1990s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Shell, Wood

You May Also Like

straw marquetry box attributed to Jean Michel Frank
By (after) Jean Michel Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This beautiful box with straw marquetry is attributed to Jean Michel Frank as it is similar in size and pattern with his work. Box is unsigned but in good condition, red leather back.
Category

Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw

Jean-Michel Frank 'Straw Marquetry Box'
By Jean-Michel Frank
Located in Sharon, CT
Geometric angular design. Cork interior. Three bronze four sided pyramids attached. Unsigned and 'attributed to'. Provenance: Liz O'Brien NYC c.2000.
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw

Jean Michel Frank Large Straw French Marquetry Box, 1930s
By Jean-Michel Frank
Located in Milan, IT
Astonishing French straw-marquetry box, dating from the 1930s, designed by Jean-Michel Frank.
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw, Cork

Jean-Michel Franck Straw Marquetry Box, 1930
By Jean-Michel Frank
Located in Paris, IDF
Beautiful Jean-Michel Frank straw marquetry decorative box from the 1930s. Carved from beech wood fully covered by straw marquetry with radiating patterns. It has been fully restored, with slight traces on the marquetry remaining, and the yellow velvet fabric inside that was pretty damaged has been replaced by a black velvet fabric. The box is unsigned, but really similar in size and pattern to Jean-Michel Frank boxes...
Category

Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Velvet, Straw, Beech

Russian Straw Marquetry Box
Located in London, GB
Dome topped table coffer veneered with traditional Russian designs in straw marquetry. This is a rare and vibrant object in rather careworn condition....
Category

Vintage 1920s Russian Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw

Rare Napoleonic Straw Marquetry Box
Located in New York, NY
This cylinder box is an exceptionally fine example of straw marquetry, and a rare survivor of the craft, which involves the cutting, coloring, and mounting of split straws to form de...
Category

Antique Early 1800s French Neoclassical Decorative Boxes

Materials

Straw

Recently Viewed

View All