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Jules Leleu, Mahogany Writing Table, France, circa 1940

About
Details
- CreatorJules Leleu (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 29 in. (73.66 cm)Width: 35.25 in. (89.54 cm)Depth: 25.5 in. (64.77 cm)
- StyleArt Deco (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacturecirca 1940
- ConditionRefinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor structural damages. Minor fading.
- Seller LocationNew York, NY
- Reference Number
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: New York, NY
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
About the Designer
Jules Leleu
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.
- Jules Leleu, Art Deco Mahogany Armchair, France, circa 1936By Jules LeleuLocated in New York, NY1930s armchair by Art Deco master Jules Leleu. Numbered on right back leg 15560.Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsBronze
- Jules Leleu, Sycamore Center Table, France, c. 1948By Jules LeleuLocated in New York, NYSycamore center table or extension dining table, with gilt bronze trim. Signed on Ureformol plaque on the pedestal. For illustrations of identical models, see: Ensembles Mobilier...Category
Vintage 1940s French Center Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Jules Leleu, Fine Art Deco Standing Mirror / Vanity, France, circa 1928By Jules LeleuLocated in New York, NYA fine and rare vanity with a pleasing asymmetrical form, ample storage, nickel-plated hardware and pulls, and a beautiful oval, rimless mirror. This piece was custom made for Vig...Category
Vintage 1920s French Vanities
MaterialsNickel
- Jules Leleu, Art Deco Walnut Cabinet, France, C. 1944By Jules LeleuLocated in New York, NYFine walnut four-door cabinet by Jules Leleu with bronze medallion by Champreix For an illustration of an identical cabinet, see Mobilier et Décoration, no. 5. December 1946. F...Category
20th Century French Cabinets
MaterialsBronze
- Maurice Calka for Leleu-Deshays, "Boomerang" Desk, France, 1970By Maurice Calka, LeLeu DeshaysLocated in New York, NY“Boomerang” desk designed by Maurice Calka for Leleu. Marked: "CREATION M. CALKA EDITION LELEU DESHAYS" This desk was exhibited in the museum show "Leleu 50 ans de mobilier et de d...Category
20th Century French Desks
MaterialsMetal
- Pierre-Paul Montagnac, Art Deco Table, France, 1926By Pierre-Paul MontagnacLocated in New York, NYArt Deco console table by Pierre-Paul Montagnac (1883-1961) Signed on underside: Montagnac, 1926 Bibliography: Le Mobilier du XXe Siecle, Dictionnaire des créateurs by Pierre K...Category
20th Century French Art Deco Console Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Walnut
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