Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
1880s French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Bronze
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron, Wrought Iron
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Wood
2010s British Scandinavian Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Sheepskin, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary British Organic Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Plaster
20th Century French Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Marble, Ormolu
Mid-20th Century Italian Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Organic Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Art Deco Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Travertine, Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron, Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron
1820s French Louis Philippe Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Elm, Pine, Teak, Oak, Mahogany
Late 20th Century American Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Copper, Iron, Wire
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Walnut
Recent Sales
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Brass
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Wrought Iron, Iron
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron, Wrought Iron
19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Iron, Wrought Iron
1850s French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Napoleon Iii Period Antique French Fire Screen
A Close Look at 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.