30 Wide Directoire
Vintage 1930s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique Early 1800s French Directoire Game Tables
Wood
20th Century American Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
2010s American Directoire Bookcases
Wire, Brass
Vintage 1960s Unknown Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1980s European Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1940s French Directoire End Tables
Marble, Brass
1910s Victorian Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Illustration Board, Pen
People Also Browsed
2010s American Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Card Tables and Tea Tables
Lacquer
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
Antique Late 19th Century Victorian Game Tables
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Card Tables and Tea Tables
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Bergere Chairs
Linen
Late 20th Century Italian Chinese Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Wood
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Card Tables and Tea Tables
Lacquer
Vintage 1920s British Art Deco Prints
Paper
Antique 1870s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Antique Early 1900s Swedish Desks
Pine
20th Century British Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Card Tables and Tea Tables
Walnut
2010s Austrian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
Antique 19th Century British Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Recent Sales
Antique 18th Century and Earlier French Directoire Dining Room Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s French Directoire Center Tables
Steel
Early 2000s American Directoire Dining Room Sets
Beech
Vintage 1960s American Directoire Desks
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Directoire Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1940s American Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1940s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s French Directoire Gueridon
Belgian Black Marble, Bronze
Vintage 1950s Unknown Louis XVI Bergere Chairs
Walnut
Vintage 1950s French Directoire Armchairs
Walnut
Antique Early 19th Century French Directoire Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s French Directoire Shelves
Steel
Antique 1790s French Directoire Secretaires
Carrara Marble
20th Century French Dining Room Tables
Cherry
30 Wide Directoire For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 30 Wide Directoire?
A Close Look at directoire Furniture
Formed in the wake of the Jacobin Reign of Terror’s bloody guillotine, the Directoire was established to lead France into order through the leadership of a five-member council of directors. It was brief, lasting only from 1795 to 1799, ending with Napoléon Bonaparte’s coup d’état, and was economically tumultuous. Yet it was an essential bridge between the era of Louis XVI and the elaborate Empire style that followed, with Directoire furniture and decorative arts shaped by a royal passion for classical design and an enthusiasm for postrevolutionary France.
Much of the country’s furniture production had halted during the French Revolution when the furniture guilds system was abolished, but during the Directoire period, the cabinetmakers restarted their businesses, such as François-Honoré-Georges and Jacob-Desmalter who established a new workshop called Jacob-Frères. Pieces made in walnut, elm, mahogany and other inexpensive materials incorporated influences ranging from Egypt to Pompeii, with popular forms including the curule armchair based on an ancient Roman design. The aesthetics of the transitional style were more austere than during the monarchy, with court cabinetmaker Jean-Baptiste Sené, for instance, reimagining his workshop’s neoclassical-style furniture with ungilded surfaces and a reduction of ornamentation.
Symbols referencing the revolutionary tenets of liberty, equality and fraternity were frequently carved into Directoire furnishings, such as the Phrygian cap, clasped hands and the fasces, which is an image of a bound bundle of sticks adopted from the Roman Republic, where it was seen as an emblem of strength through unity.
Elements of the French Directoire style continued through Empire style. Designers Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine are credited today as major proponents of both movements. The classically inspired furniture design is represented in pieces such as the boat-shaped daybed and the klismos chair, which endured in French interiors as well as in styles abroad, including American Directoire.
Find a collection of antique Directoire chairs, tables, daybeds, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.