r - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

lawless quality was maintained in
Ruhlmann's workshops, where the
highest paid artisans in Paris were
employed under his close supervision. The
extravagant prices he asked were justified
by the elegance of his concepts and their
superb execution. Details of the work
reveal the lengths to which Ruhlmann was
willing to go to realize his exquisite
designs. To further enhance the effect of
luxury he contrasted ivory ornament
against exotic wood veneers in seemingly
simple designs that were extraordinarily
difficult to execute, for example,the hairline
ivory fillets on the drawers of the file
cabinet and defining each facet of the
torpedo-shaped leg of the desk(pp.20-21).
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