One of the most elegant and innovative 20th-century French furniture designers, Jacques Adnet created a simple, unadorned signature style that is both trim and vigorous. He began his career in the heyday of the Art Deco era, and in the 1950s, in association with Hermès, created chairs, lamps, desks and other pieces that employed slender metal frames clad in stitched saddle leather. With such furnishings, Adnet brought a fashion sensibility to design and decor that had not been seen since the 1920s prime of the great Paris couturier-decorator Paul Poiret.
Adnet was born in a provincial town in Burgundy, where he studied design before moving, along with his twin brother, Jean, to Paris to study at the École des Arts Décoratifs. After their graduation in the early 1920s, the brothers were hired to work in the decorative-arts atelier of the department store Galeries Lafayette, under the direction of Maurice Dufrêne, an Art Deco master who developed a singularly robust and opulent style. Both Adnets showed their work at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes — the design fair from which the term Art Deco is derived.
In 1928, Jacques Adnet took charge of the struggling La Compagnie des Arts Français, a decorative-arts firm founded by Louis Süe and André Mare that created modern furnishings that bore traces of 18th-century styling. Adnet immediately took the company in a different direction. He developed a simple lithe and lean look that incorporated industrial materials such as metal and glass, along with exotic woods and finishes such as parchment and sharkskin.
Adnet’s furniture begs to be described in terms of personalities: charming faux-bamboo side tables, suave chrome lighting and urbane club chairs. His most noted pieces, which feature sleek metal frames wrapped in Hermès leather, have a character all their own — smooth, elegant and self-assured, they inhabit a room with the same wit and grace as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve.
Find vintage Jacques Adnet furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
1950's Stitched leather mantles by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
Description1950's Stitched leather mantles by Jacques Adnet Great condition France A Rare French Midcentury Modern hand stitched leather mantles by Jacques Adnet, circa 1955. Adnet h...
Bronze
1950's Stitched leather and bronze mantles by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched burgundy leather and bronze fire stools By Jacques Adnet
Bronze
1950's Stitched leather mantles by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather mantles by Jacques Adnet Hand made in France
Brass
1950's Stitched leather and bronze fire stools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950's Stitched leather and bronze mantles Dark blue leather France
Bronze
Jacques Adnet (1900 -1984) Minimilist Fire Place Andirons
By Jacques Adnet
Located in CA, CA
A pair of Minimalist Andirons by Jacques Adnet (1900 -1984). With their simple, modern shape, clean lines and dark matte finish, these sculptural forms strike a balance between Adnet...
Iron
$2,696Sale Price|20% Off
H 39.77 in W 39.77 in D 12.6 in
Fireplace mantle in gray and pink marble "fior di pesco", Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Vintage fireplace mantle in gray and pink marble, special marble called fior di pesco, from Italy, from the early 1900s, maximum external dimensions cm W 101 x H 101 x D 32, internal...
Marble
$1,288
H 19.3 in W 25.6 in D 5.52 in
Art Deco Fire Screen in Glass and Bronze, attributed to Jacques Adnet c.1930s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in London, GB
A stunning glass and bronze firescreen in the style of Jacques Adnet. Two small chips one to the top( inside do not very visible and one on bottom corner) both chips have been filed ...
Bronze
Wood and Concrete Tabletop Fire Pit by Pierre Sarkis
By Pierre Sarkis
Located in Guatemala City, Central America
Wood and Concrete tabletop rubbing alcohol fire pit by Pierre Sarkis. The beauty of wood and concrete light up your Table. Solid Wood table of exotic...
Concrete
A Large Calacatta Vagli Marble Bolection Fireplace Mantle
Located in London, GB
A large and substantial Bolection fireplace in Variegated Calacatta Vagli marble with a pale background, purple, grey veining and soft gold tones. Stoo...
Marble
$3,196
H 32.29 in W 31.5 in D 8.67 in
Wrought Iron Animal Fire Screen by Atelier Marolles, France, 1950's
By Atelier Marolles
Located in Den Haag, NL
Wrought iron animal fire screen by Atelier Marolles, France, 1955. Very decorative and useful piece with dense mesh against the sparks.
Metal, Wrought Iron
$9,831 / item
H 48.43 in W 55.91 in D 5.91 in
Marmorea English Style Black Marble Bolection Fireplace Mantle
Located in London, GB
A very deep moulded bolection style fireplace, a reproduction of an early 19th century, Ashburton marble surround from our antique catalogue. In bla...
Marble
Solid Bronze Art Deco Andirons, France 1950's
Located in New York, NY
Extremely Heavy pair of andirons, the face made of 2x1 solid bronze bar.
Bronze
English Georgian Style Marble Fireplace Mantle
Located in London, GB
A reproduction fireplace of simple yet pleasing design, perfect for both contemporary and antique decor. A molded and shaped frame, on square foot blocks and a stepped and molded she...
Marble
George III Style Pine Fireplace Mantle
Located in Essex, MA
Rectangular shelf over an egg and dart moulding. The mantles central decoration featuring a central urn flanked by fluting and paterae. The bottom and sides with guilloche decoration.
Plaster, Pine
Faux Edge-Molded Fireplace Mantle
Located in Asheville, NC
Lovely edge-molding details. Faux Granite top and faux wood veneer surround. The piece to achieve the ambient look and feel of a real fireplace in a city apartment with faux logs or ...
Synthetic
$5,900
H 25 in W 23 in D 4.5 in
Diminutive Jacques Adnet, Attributed -Sunburst Fire Screen, France, C 1950
By Jacques Adnet
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Diminutive Jacques Adnet, Attributed -Sunburst Fire Screen, with Marble Base, France, c. 1950 France, circa 1950s–1960s A striking French mid-century sunburst fire screen attributed...
Marble, Metal, Brass, Iron
Sold
H 10.83 in W 6.11 in D 16.34 in
Pair of Modernist Steel, Iron and Brass Andirons by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Marcq-en-Barœul, Hauts-de-France
This pair of modernist style andirons is made of steel, wrought iron and brass. This is a work by famous designer and maker Jacques Adnet. Circa 1940
Brass, Steel, Wrought Iron
Modernist Steel, Iron and Brass Fireplace Tools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Marcq-en-Barœul, Hauts-de-France
This set of modernist style fireplace tools on stand are made of wrought iron and brass. This is a French work by famous designer Jacques Adnet. Circa 1940.
Brass, Wrought Iron
Jacques Adnet Leather Broom
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very rare fireplace broom by Jacques Adnet. Classic Adnet style with the shaft fully wrapped in black leather spaced with brass rings and a brass loo...
Brass
Large Jacques Adnet Fire Screen
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Miami, FL
Large Jacques Adnet fire screen, steel feet and tempered glass, all original from 1950s Rare extra large size, superb piece.
Steel
1950s Stitched Leather Fire Place Tools by Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1950s stitched leather fire place tools by Jacques Adnet.
Brass