Terms and conditions of use
Lady’s writing desk
(Bureau de dame)
(c. 1920)
Medium
Macassar ebony (Diopyros discolour), wood, ivory, silver, brass, steel, silk tassels
Measurements
(a-e) 71.4 × 82.5 × 49.0 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with the assistance of the NGV Women's Association and Paula Fox, 2007
Gallery location
Mid 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann was the leading furniture designer of the Art Deco period. Entirely self-taught, he was inspired by the Neoclassical and revivalist trends of France’s eighteenth and early nineteenth-century cabinet-making heritage. His forms were elegant and refined and he specialised in using luxury materials. This desk draws inspiration from Neoclassical furniture of the Louis XVI style, but its simple lines and minimal ornament are thoroughly modern. It employs a fuseau leg where the leg is attached to the carcass part way up the body, a design feature unique to Ruhlmann and a signature of his earlier cabinet pieces.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Paris, France
Inscription
(a) stamped in brass catch on upper interior of front proper left cupboard c.: (circle)
stamped in brass catch on upper interior of front proper right cupboard c.: (circle)
incised in side drawer cavity, rung below top drawer c.: I
incised in side drawer cavity, rung below middle drawer c.: II
inscribed in pencil on middle drawer support at rear of carcass c.: (left-pointing arrow)
(b) incised on underside of front face c.: I
incised on underside of bottom u.c.: I
(c) incised on underside of front face c.: II
incised on underside of bottom u.c.: II
inscribed in blue pencil/crayon on rear external face c.: X 2
(d) incised on underside of front face c.: III
incised on underside of bottom face u.c.: III
inscribed in blue pencil/crayon on rear external face c.: X 3
Accession Number
2007.709.a-e
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited