Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann

The present cabinet was originally designed by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann as a centerpiece element of L’Hotel du Collectionneur at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The exhibition was dedicated to showcasing products that were, as the brochure stated, “artistic in character” and that “show clearly modern tendencies.” Some embraced the moment to display truly avante-garde modernist design, such as Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret with the Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau. Alternatively, Ruhlmann showcased his mastery as an ensemblier by choosing to devise a modernized grand scheme for the interior of a house designed by the architect Pierre Patout. Ruhlmann collaborated with some of the most celebrated and preeminent designers of the period to decorate and furnish the spaces. The theoretical home of a collector was palatial and opulent. It included silver by Jean Puiforcat, metalwork by Edgar Brandt, painted panels by Jean Dupas and sculpture by François Pompon. 

Ruhlmann collaborated with master lacquerer Jean Dunand and artist Jean Lambert-Rucki to create a large, black cabinet to hold a prominent place within the most resplendent room in the hotel, the Grand Salon. The salon’s design artfully fused the decadence of the past with modern sensibility. Luxurious materials and ornate patterns were renewed through the use of strong geometry and bold colors. The cabinet was scaled to match the proportions of the salon, its façade had enlarged fluting that was reminiscent of architectural columns. The original cabinet had large flat doors that were incised with a decoration of a dog and hedgehog drawn by Lambert-Rucki, which incorporated a sense of exoticism. Other examples created in the years following the exhibition had a more abstract, geometric pattern while others were more refined with a solid black lacquered surface throughout, such as the present cabinet.

Conceived for the very exposition from which the term Art Deco was coined, the cabinet was one of the most spectacular furniture designs of the exposition. The present cabinet’s minimalist form, grand size and application of a chic black lacquer are emblematic of the refined design style presented by Ruhlmann at the 1925 exposition. The present offering marks an exceptional opportunity to acquire a rare and important design that was conceived of at a pivotal moment in the history of French Decorative arts, designed by a master Art Deco practitioner and executed by the finest craftsmen of the period.