Art Deco Geometric Metal Bookends, attributed to Jacques Adnet, 1940s

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Art Deco Geometric Metal Bookends, attributed to Jacques Adnet, 1940s

About the Item

These stunning French Art Deco modernist bookends from the 1940s have their design commonly attributed to Jacques Adnet's creations. The desk set pieces boast heavy polished cast aluminum metal and feature a minimalist geometric shape with a typical Art Deco design with slim 1/4 circles resting on an "L" shaped base. This Adnet desk accessory is in its original condition and shows minor metal wear throughout. Measurements for one bookend: 5.94 in wide (15 cm) x 2.94 in deep (7.5 cm) x 3.57 in high (9 cm). Note: the books are not included in the sale. Note: Additional pieces from this desk accessories collection are pictured in the book, "Jacques Adnet" by Alain-Rene Hardy and Gaelle Millet, Paris. Les Editions de l'Amateur, copyright 2009, on page 226. Further reading: To understand Jacques Adnet's work, the wise collector needs to start with this primary information: Thus, the most reliable source of information, Jacques Adnet's own words, is regrettably lacking. Furthermore - it must be emphasized - Jacques Adnet's professional activity, even if it fascinated him, did not constitute an essential part of his life. Even if he was committed to it, decoration was only his profession, not his whole life, and unlike other fellow decorators, he deployed few means to extend his notoriety. The lack of documentation only increases the difficulty we experience in determining his intentions. There are, in fact, no or few archives, or more precisely, few of them have reached us. My father has not kept anything about the Compagnie des Arts Francais, nor concerning his work, regrets Francoise Adnet (his daughter). During the war, the decorator bought a second home in Yvelines (a French department around Paris.) He subsequently stored his archives in the attic: drawings, models, plans, and various documents. Unfortunately, this collection, which would have constituted a mine of irreplaceable information for researchers, was almost destroyed by bad weather. So much so that today, we can consider that most of the Compagnie des Arts Francais archives are irretrievably lost. Jacques Adnet certainly did not attach much importance to the past (and even less to posterity.) In this, he was far from exceptional. Historians of the decorative arts of this period never cease to regret this lack of concern for heritage characterizing most of the actors who, artists at the same time as traders, intervened at the time at the crossroads of creation and production; the attitude of the Parisian department stores is symptomatic in this regard, which has unethically, neglected the evidence of the activity of their art workshops, and the Galeries Lafayette Department Store, unfortunately for us, had no more discernment than Le Printemps Department Store, so much so that the beginnings of Jacques Adnet are no better documented than the work of his maturity, the archives of La Maitrise also being practically non-existent. These shortcomings have the consequence that the various assessments of the work of Jacques Adnet most often result from an interpretation of criticism, frequently leading to a typical incomprehension of his creations due to a lack of irrefutable writings. (Extract from the foreword of the book by Alain-René Hardy and Gaelle Millet on Jacques Adnet. Published in 2009 by Les Editions de l'Amateur).

Attributed to:
Jacques Adnet (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 3.57 in (9.07 cm)Width: 5.94 in (15.09 cm)Depth: 2.94 in (7.47 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Art Deco (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Metal
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1940-1949
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1940
Condition:
Seller Location:
Atlanta, GA
Reference Number:
Seller: 2W133CEAFBB1stDibs: LU1632238594122