Christie’s roundel
Lot 374

EMILE-JACQUES RUHLMANN

A LACQUERED MAHOGANY, CHROMED-METAL AND GLASS BOOKCASE, CIRCA 1929

Closed9 December 2009

Estimate

GBP 120,000–180,000

More Information

How to sell

EMILE-JACQUES RUHLMANN
A Lacquered Mahogany, Chromed-Metal and Glass Bookcase, circa 1929
Branded twice on reverse Ruhlmann and B, nine of the ten back panels with branded number
64¾ in. (164.5 cm.) high; 37 in. (94 cm.) wide; 10 7/8 in. (27.5 cm.) deep

Specialist note

This model of a bookcase, composed with combining elements, in the late modernist style of Ruhlmann, was first presented in black lacquered limewood at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, Paris, 1929, with a very impressive matching semi circular desk. The set was acquired by André Tardieu, Président du Conseil, and then commissioned in Macassar Ebony by the Maharajah of Indore. Ruhlmann himself had the same model in his own office.