"Chinoise" Dressing Table
Designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann French
Not on view
This luxurious dressing table reflects the increasing interest in colonial resources (both material and artistic) that characterized French design during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its apparent finish is lacquer—a traditional Asian technique—and its form evokes the dignified simplicity of Asian furniture. Ruhlmann made this model in a variety of finishes, including white-leaded oak, eggshell lacquer, red natural lacquer, and black synthetic lacquer, as in this example. Synthetic lacquers, such as Duco (introduced by DuPont in 1924), were introduced in the early 1920s.
