A designer and ensemblier, Jules Leleu was one of the key authors of the Art Deco movement. While he did not win the fame of such contemporaries as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank, Leleu had a longer career and was easily their peer in the conception of trim, refined furniture forms and in the use of the opulent materials — from lacquer and ivory to sharkskin and exotic woods — that were a keynote of haute Art Deco design.
Leleu was born into a family of artisans and decorators. Their firm, Maison Leleu, had existed since the 18th century and Jules would guide it through much of the 20th. (The business lasted until 1973, headed at the end by Jules's children.) He studied architecture, served as an aviator in World War I, and after the conflict took up design full-time.
Leleu presented work at the 1925 exposition in Paris that gave us the term Art Deco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purchased a burl amboyna wood commode by Leleu directly from the show.
As the desks, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs show, Leleu was a stickler for precision craft and preferred to let his materials do the talking — his furniture is generally spare and sleek; its presence is established by figuring (or patterning/graining) in the wood and the occasional marquetry medallion. He had a keen eye for currents in design and an adaptable sensibility.
Maison Leleu would embrace many of the starker forms of modernism after the 1940s, as well as new materials such as artificial lacquer and plastics (then considered cutting-edge rather than cheap). Jules Leleu is a guiding light of 20th-century modernism: a man whose work represents both a devotion to traditional handiwork and an appreciation for the next wave in design.
Find Jules Leleu tables, sideboards, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
French Art Deco Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Butterfly Buffet by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in North Bergen, NJ
Stunning French Art Deco credenza is designed by famous artisan Jules Leleu. It is comprised of mother-of-pearl inlay forming a butterfly motif with gold hardware, which accents the ...
A Fine French Art Deco Walnut Music Cabinet or Sideboard by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Long Island City, NY
With two pairs of doors opening to four vinyl record storage compartments, a center drop front opens to receive a turntable and a center speaker compartment; center panel ornamented ...
Bronze
Maurice Dufrene French Art Deco Mahogany Sideboard Cabinet
By Maurice Dufrêne
Located in Queens, NY
French Art Deco mahogany sideboard cabinet with 4 glass front doors and inlaid trim edge under a marble top with 4 tapered fluted ebonized ...
Marble
Dudouyt - Spirit - Buffet - Oak - 1940 - French - Brutalist
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Evoking the structural elegance of French post-war functionalism A restrained yet monumental presence, this French sideboard from the 1940s embodies the aesthetic language of post-w...
Oak
French Art Deco Buffet in the Style of Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Miami, FL
Gorgeous details on this French Art Deco buffet in the style of Jules Leleu in palisander wood with marquetry, mother-of-pearl, nacre and bronze inlay designs. The bronze caps, rings...
Palisander
Art Deco Buffet, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Presenting a captivating Art Deco buffet from 1950s France, carefully crafted to embody both elegance and functionality. This exceptional piece features two spacious storage compartm...
Oak
Jules Leleu Attributed Art Deco French Sideboard
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bradenton, FL
A French Art Deco period sideboard attributed to Jules Leleu. Made of mahogany, it consists of four seperate pieces secured together with bolts. A central cabinet with a beveled frame has book matched cabinet doors decorated with an elaborately scrolled brass escutcheon. Inside are two hand dovetailed drawers above a single shelf. Serpentine cabinets on either side each house a serpentine curved shelf...
Brass
Fine Art Deco Sideboard by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Bridgewater, CT
Jules Leleu (1883-1961). An important rosewood cabinet, decorated with a spray of inlay mother-of-pearl flowers and butterflies, legs with gilded bronze sabots. With the original ...
Bronze
$7,300
H 38.19 in W 70.87 in D 20.48 in
Dudouyt - Inspired - Raw Solid Oak Buffet - 1940s - France - Art Deco
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Introducing a remarkable 1940s French oak credenza, exuding the captivating allure of Art Deco brutalist design. This credenza showcases a harmonious blend of functionality and aesth...
Oak
$19,522
H 37.01 in W 98.43 in D 21.26 in
Jules Leleu French Rosewood Diamond Marquetry Art Deco Sideboard, 1940's
By Jules Leleu
Located in Sofia, BG
Jules Leleu French rosewood diamond Marquetry Art Deco sideboard, 1940's This French Art Deco sideboard originates from the 1940s, It was produced by ...
Rosewood
Fine Art Deco Sideboard Designed by Christian Krass
By Christian Krass
Located in New York, NY
A fine and elegant Art Deco sideboard designed by Christian Krass.
Giltwood, Oak
$4,495
H 32 in W 72 in D 19 in
Charles Pfister for Baker Primavera Art Deco Sideboard Credenza or Bar Cabinet
By Baker Furniture Company, Charles Pfister
Located in South Bend, IN
A rare and gorgeous modern Art Deco sideboard, credenza, or bar cabinet By Charles Pfister for Baker Furniture USA, 1980s Primavera (white mahogany) wood, with parquetry inl...
Brass
$11,800
H 38 in W 82.29 in D 17.72 in
A Composition of Stoic Geometry: French Art Deco Brutalist Sideboard, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt, Gaston Poisson
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
A composition of stoic geometry, this French sideboard reveals a language of sculptural restraint and architectural rhythm. Executed in solid oak circa 1940, the piece commands prese...
Oak
French Art Deco Sideboard, Carved Oak, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
A masterclass in geometric abstraction and artisanal ingenuity, this French Art Deco sideboard from the 1940s exemplifies the era’s pursuit of modern form through noble material. Cra...
Oak
Sold
H 38 in W 87 in D 21 in
French Art Deco Jules Leleu Rosewood Bronze Mounted Sideboard Credenza, Signed
By Jules Leleu
Located in Miami, FL
French Art Deco Jules Leleu rosewood bronze mounted sideboard credenza, signed. Offered for sale is a signed French Art Deco Jules sideb...
Bronze
Blond Ash Jules Leleu Credenza, France, 1940s
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
1940's French credenza designed by Jules Leleu. Two front doors with signature bronze escutcheon depicting Adam and Eve at key closure. Two sets of three drawers, on either end of credenza. Blonde ash...
Wood, Ash
Jules Leleu Two Door Walnut Credenza, France, 1940s
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
1940's French Jules Leleu two door credenza. Intricate basketweave inlay pattern on front door panels. Large bronze key back plate. Ebonized base and legs. Walnut.
Walnut
Sold
H 39 in W 87 in D 23 in
Signed Jules Leleu Curved Facade Parquetry Pattern Credenza, France, 1940s
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
1940s French signed Jules Leleu oak credenza. Diamond pattern parquetry veneer on doors and top. Curved facade with four doors. Sculptural legs. Original ornate brass hardware. ...
Oak
Sold
H 37.25 in W 95.5 in D 20.25 in
French Art Deco / Modern Neoclassical Mahogany Sideboard Signed by Jules Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
Large, Elegant French Art Deco Mahogany sideboard, buffet or credenza by Jules Leleu in the modern neoclassical spirit with exquisite tin and brass ma...
Brass, Tin
1940s French Jules Leleu Blond Ash Three-Door Credenza
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
French 1940s three-door credenza signed Jules Leleu. The credenza is made of blond ashwood. Center brass accented design. Signature is inside the door.
Ash
Sold
H 38.19 in W 116.5 in D 22 in
Fine French Art Deco Burl Walnut Sideboard by Jules Leleu (documented)
By Jules Leleu
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jules Leleu: A fine French Art Deco burled walnut sideboard by, with six doors, five central drawers and chromes hardware. This sideboard is part of an emblematic dining set design...
Chrome
Jules Leleu Mahogany Credenza with Gilt Bronze Mounts
By Jules Leleu
Located in Astoria, NY
An Art Deco era mahogany credenza by French designer Jules Leleu, produced circa 1940s, including three swinging doors, with nautical themed gilt bronze mounts, interior with six ute...
Bronze
Sold
H 37.38 in W 85.44 in D 20.25 in
Fine French Art Deco Three-Door Walnut Sideboard with Bronze Details by Leleu
By Jules Leleu
Located in Long Island City, NY
Fine French Art Deco three parquetry walnut doors sideboard with refine bronze hardware by Leleu. Interiors include five shelves and two drawers. Signed. A matching table is also av...
Bronze
Fine Art Deco Sideboard by Jules Leleu (1883-1961)
By Jules Leleu
Located in New York, NY
A fine Art Deco sideboard with four doors and five drawers Walnut, oak, and mahogany with a limestone top and nickel-plated bronze hardware
Limestone