Art Deco Amaranth Serving Trolley by Christian Krass

Beautiful amaranth serving trolley, opening with three doors, the ogee top finished with a black glass slab by Christian KRASS (1868-1957).
Krass is a cabinetmaker and furniture maker from Lyon.
Lyon furniture of the period is also characterized by a double production: the production of style and the modern production. The production of style is a return to more classical forms, to Renaissance style furniture, while the modern production calls upon aesthetic forms of the time. These are the two types of production that we find in the workshop of Christian Krass.
The work of Christian Krass is associated with that of the French decorator Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann. Many of Christian Krass's creations are Ruhlmannian in spirit. The latter uses precious woods, such as Gabonese ebony or Cuban moiré mahogany, and rare materials, such as ivory or tortoiseshell. He likes to work with the refinement of veneer which allows a pure rendering of lines and elegant forms. For some furniture, the reference to Ruhlmann is such that it is possible that there was a collaboration between the two artists. The relationship between the latter two remains unclear, but they were very well known. It is therefore unlikely that Christian Krass simply copied Ruhlmann's work. Experts rather favor an association between the two cabinetmakers. Christian Krass may have spent a brief time with Ruhlmann during his apprenticeship, or even carried out commissions for the latter.