Pj Mene Bronze 2 Horse

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.

Invite the untamed wonders of the animal kingdom into your home — and do so safely — with the antique, new and vintage animal sculptures available on 1stDibs.

Artists working in every medium from furniture design to jewelry to painting have found inspiration in wild animals over the years. For sculptors, three-dimensional animal renderings — both realistic and symbolic — crisscross history and continents. In as early as 210 B.C., intricately detailed terracotta horses guarded early Chinese tombs, while North America’s native Inuit tribes living in the ice-covered Arctic during the 1800’s wore small animal figurines carved from walrus ivory. Indeed, animal sculpture has a long history, and beginning in the 19th century, the art form started becoming not only fashionable but artistically validated — a trend that continues today. At home, animal sculptures — polished bronze rhinos crafted in the Art Deco style or ceramic dogs of the mid-century modern era — can introduce both playfulness and drama to your decor.

In the case of the frosted glass sculptures crafted by artisans at legendary French glassmaker Lalique, founded by jeweler and glass artist René Lalique, some animal sculptures are purely decorative. With their meticulously groomed horse manes and detailed contours of their parakeet feathers, these creatures want to be proudly displayed. Adding animal sculptures to your bookcases can draw attention to your covetable collection of vintage monographs, while side tables and wall shelving also make great habitats for these ornamental animal figurines.

Some sculptures, however, can find suitable nests in just about any corner of your space. Whimsical brass flamingos or the violent, realist bronze lions created by Parisian sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye are provocative and versatile pieces that can rest on windowsills or your desk. Otherwise, the brass cat shoehorns and bronze porcupine ashtrays designed by Viennese artist Walter Bosse are no longer roaming aimlessly throughout your living room, as they’ve found a purpose to serve.

Embark on your safari today and find a fascinating collection of vintage, modern and antique animal sculptures on 1stDibs.