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"David-Weill" Desk

Designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann French
ca. 1918–19
Not on view
This desk is based on French and English kidney-shaped desks of the late eighteenth century known as rognon (kidney) desks; the link to historical precedent would have been obvious— even desirable—to the client who commissioned it: David David-Weill (1871–1952), an American born French financier who worked at Lazard Frères, his family’s bank. A serious art collector, he bequeathed more than two thousand works to French and American museums. His greatest interest lay in the arts of eighteenth-century France, with which he decorated his home. Accordingly, Ruhlmann designed the desk specifically to harmonize with these surroundings, and David-Weill used a Louis XVI armchair with it. The aesthetic elegance, material sumptuousness, and high-quality craftsmanship of Ruhlmann’s furniture hold their own against eighteenth-century masterpieces.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "David-Weill" Desk
  • Designer: Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (French, Paris 1879–1933 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1918–19
  • Medium: Amboyna, ivory, sharkskin, silk, metal, oak, lumber-core plywood, poplar, walnut, birch, macassar ebony
  • Dimensions: 37 3/8 in. × 48 in. × 30 1/2 in. (94.9 × 121.9 × 77.5 cm)
  • Classification: Furniture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. Gift, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.154.1
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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