Art Deco vs Art Deco Product

Art Deco Product is the cross-discipline counterpart of Art Deco — the object and tableware expression of Art Deco.

Chrysler Building, New York — original sketch elevation (Art Deco)

Art Deco

Glamorous machine-age modernism — bold geometry, stepped setbacks, and stylized ornament that made the skyscraper feel like the future.

  • Stepped 'setback' massing that tapers as it rises
  • Strong vertical piers emphasizing height
  • Geometric ornament: zigzags, chevrons, sunbursts
  • Banded or ribbon windows with decorative spandrels
  • Stylized, machine-age decorative motifs
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Geometric silver tea and coffee service by Jean Puiforcat, c. 1925–30 (The Met)

Art Deco Product

Luxurious modern objects of the 1920s–30s — bold geometry, sunbursts, and exotic veneers in lacquer, silver, and ivory — that made machine-age modernity glamorous and ornamental.

  • Bold symmetrical geometry — sunbursts, fans, chevrons, and zigzags
  • Luxury materials: lacquer, shagreen, ivory, macassar ebony, silver
  • Stylized, streamlined motifs of flowers, animals, and the human figure
  • Stepped and faceted volumes with crisp polished surfaces
  • Geometric reduction of tableware and objects to pure solids
Full Art Deco Product guide →

At a glance

Art DecoArt Deco Product
Era1910s–19401920s–1930s
DisciplineArchitectureIndustrial Design
RegionUnited States, France, WorldwideFrance, United States, United Kingdom
FamilyDeco familyDecorative Modern, Luxury Craft
Formal traitsgeometric, ornamental, stepped, luxuriousgeometric, symmetrical, luxe-materials, faceted

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