- Product:
- Vase table
- Manufacturer:
- Bonhams
- Architonic ID:
- 4105900
- Country:
- United Kingdom
- Address
- Telephone
- Website
Key facts
Product description
Macassar ebony and ivory vase table
The rectangular top centering an inlaid floral garland within a solid ground framed in ivory, two short drawers above vasiform supports above block plinths and plank stretcher, branded Ruhlmann.
Height 28in (71cm); length 43in (1.9m); depth 19 3⁄4in (50.2cm)
Note: This diminutive table, noted in the Ruhlmann registry as Vase, upon close inspection, features an unusual combination of Ruhlmann passions. The use of ebene-de-macassar, that rare and exotic wood so often identified with Ruhlmann, in and of itself is not that unusual, but its use in a carved manner, as in the vase-form supports with scrolled handles, is quite rare. The celebration of the beauty of the natural wood in all its granular glory, was one of the hallmarks of Ruhlmann’s oeuvre. Carving was seldom used. This well documented table, and variants, were used in a number of Ruhlmann’s interiors, including his own home and pictured in a variety of period photos and drawings. According to Rosalind Pepall in Ruhlmann Genius of Art Deco, there are further associations with the earlier E’tat Aigle and other corner cabinets of the period that feature an intricately inlaid ivory tableaux of fluted vases with scrolling handles overflowing with flowers. The central panel of the Vase table, with its inlay of ebony and ivory in a pattern of floral garland reserved against a solid ground framed in ivory, give a depth that suggests a small dressing table cloth, another unusual characteristic for Ruhlmann. The upright plinth that supports the vase-form also demonstrates an unusual pattern of deliberately mismatched veneer, studded in ivory. The scale, elegance of line and attention to detail, all so well noted and appreciated in Ruhlmann’s work, are once again demonstrated in this remarkable table. Another example is was recently on view, along with the full size working model drawing, in the Ruhlmann Genius exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Literature: cf. Emannuel Breon,Rosalind Pepall et al, Ruhlmann Genius of Art Deco, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2004, pp. 176-179, for illustrations of other examples and a full discussion of this design. Florence Camard, Ruhlmann Master of Art Deco, Harry N. Abrams, Paris, 1984, pp. 99, 177 and 202.
The rectangular top centering an inlaid floral garland within a solid ground framed in ivory, two short drawers above vasiform supports above block plinths and plank stretcher, branded Ruhlmann.
Height 28in (71cm); length 43in (1.9m); depth 19 3⁄4in (50.2cm)
Note: This diminutive table, noted in the Ruhlmann registry as Vase, upon close inspection, features an unusual combination of Ruhlmann passions. The use of ebene-de-macassar, that rare and exotic wood so often identified with Ruhlmann, in and of itself is not that unusual, but its use in a carved manner, as in the vase-form supports with scrolled handles, is quite rare. The celebration of the beauty of the natural wood in all its granular glory, was one of the hallmarks of Ruhlmann’s oeuvre. Carving was seldom used. This well documented table, and variants, were used in a number of Ruhlmann’s interiors, including his own home and pictured in a variety of period photos and drawings. According to Rosalind Pepall in Ruhlmann Genius of Art Deco, there are further associations with the earlier E’tat Aigle and other corner cabinets of the period that feature an intricately inlaid ivory tableaux of fluted vases with scrolling handles overflowing with flowers. The central panel of the Vase table, with its inlay of ebony and ivory in a pattern of floral garland reserved against a solid ground framed in ivory, give a depth that suggests a small dressing table cloth, another unusual characteristic for Ruhlmann. The upright plinth that supports the vase-form also demonstrates an unusual pattern of deliberately mismatched veneer, studded in ivory. The scale, elegance of line and attention to detail, all so well noted and appreciated in Ruhlmann’s work, are once again demonstrated in this remarkable table. Another example is was recently on view, along with the full size working model drawing, in the Ruhlmann Genius exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Literature: cf. Emannuel Breon,Rosalind Pepall et al, Ruhlmann Genius of Art Deco, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2004, pp. 176-179, for illustrations of other examples and a full discussion of this design. Florence Camard, Ruhlmann Master of Art Deco, Harry N. Abrams, Paris, 1984, pp. 99, 177 and 202.