Napoleon III Furniture
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.
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brocade, Beech
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Griotte Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Enamel, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Onyx, Bronze, Enamel
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze, Ormolu
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Copper
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Leather
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Mahogany
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Giltwood, Paint
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Giltwood, Mirror
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Belgian Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Belgian Black Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Mother-of-Pearl, Glass, Tulipwood, Yew
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Stone, Brass, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Mirror, Giltwood
19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Glass, Mirror, Wood, Giltwood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood, Giltwood, Mirror
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Carrara Marble, Brass, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Malachite, Enamel, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Glass, Mahogany, Giltwood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Iron, Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Carrara Marble
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Cut Steel
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Velvet, Fruitwood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze, Gold
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Japanese Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Enamel, Bronze
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Enamel
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Iron, Steel
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ceramic
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Fabric
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze





