ÉMILE-JACQUES RUHLMANN | "FONTANE" CABINET, MODEL NO. AR1533/NR2232

Monsieur Fontane, Paris

Thence by descent

Christie’s Paris, November 26, 2003, lot 20

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Léon Deshairs, “Le XVème Salon des Artistes Décorateurs,” Art et Décoration, 1924, p. 176

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

This lot is offered together with the original bill of sale and a certificate of execution from 1933.

Ruhlmann introduced this elegant cabinet in 1924 at the fifteenth Salon des Artistes Décorateurs at the Grand Palais. Commissioned by Monsieur Fontane, the present lot is the first version of the model to have been made and, although few examples were made, soon became one of Ruhlmann's most celebrated designs. As soon as November 1924, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs acquired an example for their permanent collection. While the first iterations were primarily made using burl amboyna, the Ruhlmann archives show that the model could be also made in Macassar ebony, walnut and amaranth. A later pair was executed for the legendary Grand Salon of the Hotel du Collectionneur presented at the 1925 Paris International Exhibition. The exhibition models were likely executed in black lacquer or Macassar ebony to be part of the decorative scheme of the Salon. The “Fontane” cabinet reflects Ruhlmann’s taste for neoclassical forms, as well as the designer’s commitment to refined materials and exceptional craftsmanship in the Art Deco style. This lot provides collectors with the opportunity to acquire the very first version of the model named after its initial owner.