Important Design
Important Design
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
"Fontane" Cabinet
Auction Closed
June 9, 06:24 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
"Fontane" Cabinet
circa 1923-1924
model no. 2232 NR/1533 AR
burl amboyna, oak, ivorine
53½ x 35½ x 16 in. (135.9 x 90.2 x 40.6 cm)
Sotheby's New York, The Andy Warhol Collection: Art Nouveau and Art Deco, April 23, 1988, lot 340
Jean Karajian Gallery, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
G. Vaisière, “Le Salon des Artistes Décorateurs,” L’Architecte, 1924, p. 161
René Chavance, “Les Salon de 1924: La Société des Artistes Décorateurs,” Beaux-Arts, June 15, 1924, p. 188
Alain Lesieutre, The Splendor and Spirit of Art Deco, New York, 1974, p. 129
Yvonne Brunhammer, Le Style 1925, Paris, 1975, p. 53
Yvonne Brunhammer, 1925, Paris, 1976, p. 54
Florence Camard, Ruhlmann, Paris, 1983, p. 270
Cinquantenaire de l’Exposition de 1925, exh. cat., Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1976, no. 772
Ruhlmann: Un Génie de l’Art Déco, exh. cat., Musée des Années Trente, Boulogne-Billancourt, 2001, pp. 164-165
Florence Camard, Jacques Émile Ruhlmann, Paris, 2009, p. 141 (for a related example), 175 (for a period photograph of a related example at the Grand Salon of L’Hôtel d’un Collectionneur, 1925) and 199
Originally designed by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmannn under commission from Monsieur Fontane, the eponymously named “Fontane” cabinet was presented to the public at the 1924 Salon des Artistes Décorateurs at the Grand Palais. The cabinet soon became a much celebrated design, and as early as 1924 it was selected by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs for the permanent collection. The present cabinet is made with burl amboyna, a popular Art Deco material used for its highly figural grain patterning. Like many of Ruhlmann’s models, a variety of woods were used to execute various examples including Macassar ebony, walnut and amaranth. A pair of “Fontane'' cabinets were included in the legendary Grand Salon of the Hotel du Collectionneur presented at the 1925 Paris International Exhibition which were likely made with Macassar ebony or were lacquered black to match the decorative scheme. Ruhlmann was a designer committed to excellence in every way including his dedication to exceptional craftsmanship and in his use of luxurious and refined materials.