Napoleon III Tables
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.
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Amboyna
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Rosewood
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Fruitwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass, Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Late 20th Century Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Bronze
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Mahogany
Late 20th Century Napoleon III Tables
Stone
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Felt, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Shagreen, Bamboo, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
1930s French Vintage Napoleon III Tables
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Bronze
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Sycamore
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Stone, Iron
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Pine
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Brass, Iron
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Rosewood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Metal, Tôle
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Oak
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Oak
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Tortoise Shell
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Oak
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Carrara Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Tables
Carrara Marble, Gold Leaf
Mid-19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Pine
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Griotte Marble
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Oak
Late 20th Century Philippine Napoleon III Tables
Brass
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Iron
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Belgian Black Marble, Wrought Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Metal, Brass
20th Century French Napoleon III Tables
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Carrara Marble, Iron, Wrought Iron
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Oak, Leather
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
Late 20th Century French Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble