Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
NAPOLEON III STYLE
Under Napoleon III’s rule, Paris underwent a great rebuilding overseen by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, which created grand avenues and lavish landmarks like the Paris Opera. Antique Napoleon III–style furniture was flamboyant and eclectic. It was also known as Second Empire style since it followed and referenced the Empire style of his uncle Napoleon I.
Developing from 1852–70, Napoleon III furniture was plush and ornate, matching the fashion for masked balls and socializing in salons. It borrowed freely from earlier French styles including Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI as well as aesthetics from around the world, from antiquity to Asian art. As writer Gustave Claudin remarked in 1867, the country’s architects worked in “a style which one would be tempted to call neo-Greco-Gothico-Pompadour-Pompeian.”
Napoleon III chairs were completely covered with velvet and lined with tassels; pouf footstools invited people to put up their feet. Sofas were upholstered with tapestries, and beds were adorned with gilt bronze and theatrical canopies. The addition of conservatories to homes led to new indoor-outdoor furniture, while the spirit of hygiene promoted by Baron Haussmann inspired bright, floral motifs.
Although the most ostentatious designs were for the elite, as seen in the Napoleon III apartments preserved in the Louvre, where red velvet, gilding and chandeliers create a cacophony of luxury, these trends influenced homes across classes as manufacturing made design increasingly accessible. Papier-mâché furniture allowed for elaborate shapes that would have been difficult to carve in wood. The malleable material was painted with chinoiserie patterns and decorative designs. It was mass-produced by factories such as Jennens and Bettridge with varnishing and mother-of-pearl inlays creating an effect reminiscent of Asian lacquer. (Surfaces that had been “japanned” — a specialty of Jennens and Bettridge — were intended to resemble lacquer work that was created in East Asia.)
Find a collection of antique Napoleon III decorative objects, tables, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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Style: Napoleon III
Napoleon III Writing Slope or Box, Marquetry, France, 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Napoleon III box. Marquetry. France, 19th century.
Rectangular wooden box with a flat top and supported on circular legs that presents a front opening with a key lock and a hinged ...
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Other
19th Century French Boulle Tea Caddy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Very fine. Early 19th century Napoleon tea caddy. Brass inlay. Crystal vessel (not original).
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Crystal, Brass
Antique Black Lacquer and Brass Trinket Decorative Box
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
19th Century Napoleon III period black lacquer jewelry or trinket box features an intricate lid. Intricately decorated lid highlights this beautiful trinket box, circa 1860's. The pe...
Category
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Wood
$240 Sale Price
51% Off
Sèvres Porcelain Box, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Sèvres porcelain box, 19th century, Napoleon III period.
Box, Sèvres porcelain box, gilt brass mount, 19th century, Napoleon III period.
H: 7 cm, W: 15 cm, D: 10 cm
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
French 19th Century Napoleon III Period Ebony, Ormolu, and Brass Box
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A most elegant French 19th century Napoleon III period ebony, ormolu, and brass box. The box is raised by fine ormolu ball feet below a lovely wrap around mottled band. Each ebony si...
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass, Ormolu
19th Century French Parquetry Ebonized Domed Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Signed by maker on lock. Paris, France. Bronze/brass mounted.
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass, Bronze
French Silver Mounted Mother of Pearl Engraved Box, circa 1800
Located in Bishop
s Stortford, Hertfordshire
An exceptional and fine antique French silver mounted mother of pearl box and with an exquisitely carved ducal with a maiden holding a coronet, elaborate monogram and a rod of Caduce...
Category
1790s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl
19th Century Napoleon III Wood Marquetry Teacaddy
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
A refined antique French tea caddy from the end of Napoleon III. The box is beautifully inlaid with different types of wood and brass, outside around ...
Category
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass, Bronze
Important Box, Sèvres Porcelain Box, Napoleon III Period
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Important box, Sèvres porcelain box, Napoleon III period.
Sèvres porcelain box, jewelry box, decorated with gallant scenes, signed, gilded brass mount, very nice quality, 19th cen...
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
Napoleon III Style French Walnut Table Box
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects.
Eleg...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Walnut, Paper
Limoges Porcelain Lidded Candy Dish Trinket or Antique French Jewelry Box
Located in Miami, FL
Beautiful hand painted Limoges porcelain candy dish, trinket, or jewelry box.
This gorgeous French jewelry box is adorned with traditional decor...
Category
20th Century French Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Porcelain
$395 Sale Price
20% Off
19th Century French Napoleon III Black Lacquer Liqueur Box with Bronze Inlay
Located in Fayetteville, AR
Made of palissander, this lovely Napoleon III period liqueur box is lacquered in black, a method which became popular during Napoleon III's reign. The rose...
Category
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Lacquer, Mother-of-Pearl, Rosewood
NAPOLEON III Paris 1860 Travel Foldable Writing Desk Box In Precious Woods
Aba
By Napoléon III
Located in Miami, FL
An antique Napoleon III traveler portable writing-desk box.
This is a gorgeous portable writing desk-box, created in France during the period of emperor Napoleon III, circa 1860. Th...
Category
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Leather, Shell, Wood
Bronze and Porcelain Box, Napoleon III Period, 19th Century.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Bronze and porcelain box, Napoleon III period, 19th century.
A 19th century Napoleon III period gilt bronze and Sèvres porcelain box, decorated with garlands and flowers.
H: 16cm, W...
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze
Sevres Porcelain Chest Romantic Scene
Lux
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sevres porcelain chest romantic scene (Lux)
signed Lux
19th century crica 1900.
Category
Early 1900s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Porcelain
$1,600 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique Black Rosewood Liquor Case, 1890s, Set of 11
Located in Opole, PL
Antique Black Rosewood Liquor Case, 1890s, Set of 11
Step into the opulence of 19th-century France with this stunning Napoleon III-style liquor case, a tr...
Category
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Glass, Rosewood
$2,092 Sale Price / set
20% Off
A Sèvres Porcelain Box, Gilt Brass Mounting, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
A Sèvres porcelain case, gilt brass mounting, 19th century, Napoleon III period.
An important Sèvres porcelain box, 19th century, Napoleon III period, gilt brass mounting.
H: 15.5cm...
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
Belt with Napoleon III style enameled Sterling silver decoration Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Belt in real black lizard reptile with rectangular buckle in gilded 925/1000 silver with translucent fired enamel on guilloche surrounded by engraving of enamelled leaves, in French ...
Category
1990s Italian Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Bohemian Cut Crystal Box, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Bohemian cut crystal box, 19th century, Napoleon III period.
Bohemian cut crystal box, brass mounting, late 19th century, Napoleon III period.
H: 15cm, W: 19cm, D: 11cm
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Crystal, Brass
Table Box transparent brown fired enamel over hand-engraved wood grain Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rectangular table box in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with fine hand-engraved ornaments in late Napoleon III Empire style and transparent brown fired enamel over hand-engrave...
Category
1970s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
19th Century French Cast Iron Shell-Form Coal Bucket
Located in Dallas, TX
This antique coal scuttle was created in France, circa 1870. Built of cast iron, and shaped as a shell with foliage repousse decor, the patinated bucket stands on escargot feet over ...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Iron
Large Antique French Boulle Napoleon III Marquetry Box
By Audige
Located in Vilnius, LT
Antique 19th century French Boulle/Napoleon III marquetry box.
The wooden box is decorated with inlaid brass and tortoiseshell and red silk textile inside.
Including key.
Signed: Aud...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
Paul Sormani Marquetry Token Box, 19th Century.
By Paul Sormani
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Paul Sormani marquetry token box, 19th century.
Precious wood and bone marquetry token box, Napoleon III period, 19th century.
H: 10cm, W: 36cm, D: 26cm
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bone, Wood
19th Century French Walnut and Brass Writing Boxe
Located in LEGNY, FR
Beautiful walnut desktop box which opens into a writing slope.
Decorated on the outside with 2 decorative inlaid tunbridge ware bands.
Box opens out to a beige fabric writing slo...
Category
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
$903 Sale Price
49% Off
Antique French Napoleonic Style Bronze Box with Sévres Attr. Inset plaque
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 4 1/2 in W: 6 3/4 in D: 4 1/2 in
This exquisite Antique French Napoleonic Style bronze box captures the imperial grandeur and refined craftsmanship associated with ...
Category
20th Century French Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze
Porcelain Box, Late 19th-Early 20th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Porcelain box, late 19th - early 20th century.
Porcelain box from the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, gilded brass, very nice painted scene with gold dec...
Category
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Porcelain
Napoleon III circular enamel box
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Napoleon III circular enamel box
Material bronze and Cloisonne enamel
Origin France Circa 1870
19th century
Excellent quality and excellent condition
Natural wear on its patina
Its i...
Category
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
French Boarding Student Suit Case Napoleon III Style Pine, circa 1900
Located in Labrit, Landes
French pupil suitcase in pine.
This kind of suit case was used by the boarding students to transport their school equipment.
In the style of Napoleon III
Shipping:
L 39,5 P17 ...
Category
Early 20th Century European Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Metal
$465 Sale Price
20% Off
19th Century French Repousse Brass Clad Coal Bin on Casters with Hunt Motifs
Located in Dallas, TX
Crafted in France, circa 1870, the antique brass coffer is mounted on a wooden frame, and stands on caster wheels. The slant top opens up with stopping chain revealing inside storage...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
Snuffbox basket with flowers, in Florentine Renaissance style, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling Silver gold plated with beautiful fire enamelled miniature hand-painted by the painter Renato Dainelli of a basket with flowers, in ...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful ovoid-shaped covered vase in patinated bronze with golden highlights, with rich rotating decoration in relief. The lid, symbolizing Night, is decorated with a turtle, a moon, a dragon flying among the clouds ; and the belly, symbolizing the Day, is decorated with a rising sun, mountainous landscapes, and cherry tree branches.
The whole, topped with a flamed seed, is supported by three African-type atlantes dressed in a loincloth.
Historical and artistic context
This work of art combines elements of Japonism and Orientalism, two important movements representative of the taste of the time for exoticism. Indeed, this taste for Chinoiserie was revived at the end of the 19th century following the Franco-English military campaign against the imperial army in China in 1860. Napoleon III’s French troops bring back part of the treasure from the Summer Palace, constituting in 1863 the famous Chinese Museum of Empress Eugénie at the Palace of Fontainebleau. First in painting, the movement quickly spread to decorative arts and furniture.
This craze for the Far East is encouraged in France by the diffusion of Chinese ornamental works renewing the interior decoration of the luxurious Parisian residences of a clientele eager for something new.
It was also under the Second Empire that the Orientalists were propelled to the forefront. Emperor Napoleon III, aristocrats as well as wealthy bourgeois in search of exoticism fill the order books of the most renowned artists. It is then not the predominantly academic style of the Orientalists that counts but above all the exoticism that they show to a fascinated public.
Biography
Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet...
Category
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze
Pumpkin-Shaped Candy Box in Opaline, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Pumpkin-shaped candy box in opaline, 19th century, Napoleon III period.
A Napoleon III period candy dish, 19th century, in white opaline, forming a pumpkin.
H: 16cm, D: 23cm
Category
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Opaline Glass
Antique Wooden Casket, Covered Impressed Paper
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
French wooden casket, covered with colored and impressed paper with ancient processing system -
Suitable for Your photos hanging around waiting to be fix...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Parchment Paper, Wood
$849 Sale Price
20% Off
Early 20th Century French Repousse Brass and Wooden Box with Sailboats Decor
Located in Dallas, TX
Crafted in France, circa 1920, the antique wood and brass coffer is decorated on the top with a repousse sail boat scene in the manner of Claude Vernet. T...
Category
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Brass
Paul Sormani Fruitwood Box Dedicated to Marie, Dated 1868
By Paul Sormani
Located in New York, NY
Our fruitwood jewelry chest with bronze mounts and plaque dedicated to Marie comes from the esteemed Parisian cabinet maker, Paul Sormani (1817-1877). Signed and dated on the brass.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze
Carlsbad Bohemian Hardstone Inlaid Rosewood and White Metal Casket Box
Located in London, by appointment only
Bohemia, circa 1870.
This exceptional 19th century antique casket originates from Carlsbad, a spa town in the west Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. The town is officially known as Karlovy Vary and gained fame as a destination during the 19th century.
Its piping hot springs drew tourists from across Europe to 'take the waters' and their health benefits. The highly figured stones used on this exceptional box were locally sourced and are specific to the hot mineral rich springs of Carlsbad. Close inspection will reveal layer on layer of fine mineral...
Category
1880s Czech Antique Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Agate, Marble
Napoleon Iii decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Napoleon III decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Late 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage decorative boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Napoleon III decorative boxes made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original decorative boxes, popular names associated with this style include Europa Antiques, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Paul Sormani, and A. Aucoc. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for decorative boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $333 and tops out at $20,970 while the average work can sell for $1,726.
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