Napoleon III 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
Table Box Sterling Silver Paillons in Pure Gold and Miniature Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Oval table box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fired enamel, with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle, fine miniature fired enamelled with an image of “fox hunti...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Gold, Gold Plate, 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 Boxes
Materials
Crystal, 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 Boxes
Materials
Bone, Wood
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 Boxes
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Rosewood and Mother of Pearl Travel Vanity Trinket Case
Located in Dallas, TX
This beautiful, antique jewelry box set was crafted in France, circa 1870. The box has a mother of pearl crest on the top and front, and reveals several dividers inside while the com...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Silver Plate
19th Century Napoleon III Guillaume Diehl Cigar Boxe
Located in LEGNY, FR
Beautiful Cigar humidor, stamped by Charles Guillaume DIEHL (1811 - 1885), in ebony with inlaid decoration of friezes of scrolls, fleurons and lanceolate leaves, inside with five dra...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Brass
$3,320 Sale Price
20% Off
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Period Palisander Game Box, Tortoise Shell
Located in Fayetteville, AR
Once owned by Leon Boissier Palun (1916-2007), former Senegalese ambassador to London and Paris, this mid nineteenth century French Napoleon III period palisander game box features a...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Brass
Antique French 19th Century Napoleon III Jewelry Box Inlaid Brass Pearl Thuya
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Marvelous & luxurious ! This most rare 19th century French antique Napoleon III jewelry box.
Great large size jewelry box that can be used to store your jewelry in style! Very rar...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
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 Boxes
Materials
Brass
$901 Sale Price
49% Off
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 Boxes
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
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 Boxes
Materials
Parchment Paper, Wood
$847 Sale Price
20% Off
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 Boxes
Materials
Metal
$464 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique French Napoleon III Cut Crystal
Bronze D
ore "Fan Box" circa 1870-1880
Located in New Orleans, LA
Most Unusual Antique French Napoleon III Era Cut Crystal and Bronze D'Ore "Fan Box" Circa 1870-1880.
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
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 Boxes
Materials
Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
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 Boxes
Materials
Opaline Glass
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 Boxes
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Carved Walnut and Porcelain Jewelry Box Signed Fichet Paris
By Fichet
Located in Dallas, TX
Keep your valuable safe and organized in this elegant antique jewelry box. Crafted in Paris France by Maison Fichet circa 1860, the colorful casket stands on small bracket feet. The ...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Porcelain, Walnut
Antique French Napoleon III Rosewood Jewel Box with Silver Inlay Circa 1860-1870
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique French Napoleon III rosewood jewel box with fabulous silver inlay, circa 1860-1870.
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes
Materials
Silver
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 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 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 Boxes
Materials
Agate, Marble
Napoleon Iii boxes for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Napoleon III 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 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 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 boxes, popular names associated with this style include Franco Salimbeni, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Europa Antiques, and Paul Sormani. 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 boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $179 and tops out at $1,000,000 while the average work can sell for $1,726.
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