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.
$6,627Sale Price / set|25% Off
Suite of 5 engravings of Antique scenes after Moitte by Janinet
By Jean François Janinet
Located in Paris, FR
Suite of 5 Directoire-period etchings and aquatint engravings depicting scenes from antiquity, after drawings by Jean-Guillaume MOITTE (1746-1810), author, and by the engraver Jean F...
Paper
George Washington Engraving by H. B. Hall, after William Birch
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is a handsome engraved portrait of George Washington by artist H. B. Hall. This engraving was published in New York, in a limited edition of 125 impressions. The engraving is based on a painting by William Birch Gilbert Stuart, a small miniature in enamel, completed in 1796. Birch painted Washington from life in his office in Philadelphia, by the request of I. G. Van Staphorst, Esqr. of Amsterdam. In the small portrait, Washington is depicted in a head and shoulders pose, facing right. He wears a dark coat and vest and a white shirt and ruffled cravat. The father of our country, George Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first United States president...
Paper
$8,000 / set
H 27.5 in W 40.5 in D 1 in
Set of Four Original Engravings of Hunting Scenes by John Frederick Herring Snr
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting a fabulous and very rare set of original mid-19th century Chromolithograph Engravings by John Frederick Herring Snr from circa 1850. The exci...
Paper
$1,900
H 22.13 in W 25.63 in D 0.5 in
Pair of Lithographs of Fox Hunting Scene Engravings by J. Harris
Located in Southampton, NY
Pair of Lithographs of Fox Hunting Scene Engravings by J. Harris This is a pair of hand-colored aquatints titled "The Right and Wrong Sort, or a Good and Bad Style of Going Across C...
Wood, Paper
Suite Of 4 Framed Engravings, Fishing, XIXth Century
Located in MARSEILLE, FR
Suite of 4 framed engravings, enhanced with colors, on the theme of fishing: -The choice of fish -Anglers -Happy fishing -Second view of the Levant Beautiful size and correct genera...
Paper
Jamaican Maroons, Antique Caribbean Engraving after Brunias, 1818
Located in Langweer, NL
Jamaican Maroons, Antique Caribbean Engraving after Brunias, 1818 Original antique engraving titled "Pacification with the Maroon Negroes," an important historical image relating to...
Paper
$199
H 10.12 in W 8.08 in D 0.01 in
Asian Wildlife and Hunting Scene – Antique German Engraving, c.1840
Located in Langweer, NL
Asian Wildlife and Hunting Scene – Antique German Engraving, c.1840 Description: This captivating antique engraving titled “Asien” depicts Asian wildlife alongside traditional hunting scenes in a decorative tripartite composition. At the top are three finely engraved and partially hand-colored antelopes: a blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) with its distinctive spiral horns, an Indian gazelle or chinkara (Gazella bennettii), and a greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) or similar large antelope species with lyre-shaped horns. Their detailed anatomical rendering and warm coloration highlight the European natural history fascination of the early 19th century. The middle register portrays an elaborate hunting expedition with an elephant bearing a howdah and rider, accompanied by horsemen and handlers. Surrounding them are multiple cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus...
Paper
$398
H 9.45 in W 12.92 in D 0.01 in
Original Antique Engraving of Spaniards & Peruvians after H.P. Briggs, c.1827
Located in Langweer, NL
Title: Original Antique Engraving of Spaniards & Peruvians after H.P. Briggs, c.1827 Description: An original antique steel engraving titled "Spaniards & Peruvians", engrave...
Paper
$294 / set
H 14.25 in W 10.5 in D 0.125 in
Lot of 23 Antique Virtue & Co Shakespeare Play Scene Engraving Prints 14"
Located in Dayton, OH
Lot of 23 late 19th - early 20th century black and white engravings depicting scenes from the plays of William Shakespeare, plates taken from The Works of Shakespeare Imperial Editio...
Paper
$457 / set
H 10.56 in W 8.27 in D 0.01 in
Set of Three Antique St. Vincent Engravings after Agostino Brunias, 1818
Located in Langweer, NL
Set of Three Antique St. Vincent Engravings after Agostino Brunias, 1818 Important matching set of three original antique engravings depicting the people and culture of St. Vincent ...
Paper
Set Of Eight Portrait Engravings After Kneller.
Located in Essex, MA
Framed engravings of various Lords, Dukes etc. One duplicate. Framed under glass.
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
$385
H 16.54 in W 20.08 in D 0.79 in
Antique Copper Engraving Print with Popular Bavarian Scene ca. 1900
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Antique Copper Engraving Print with Popular Bavarian Scene ca. 1900 A lovely copperplate engraving print depicting a folksy Bavarian scenery in a mountain hut. Two hunters impress a...
Glass, Wood
$2,350 / set
H 1.5 in W 26 in D 26 in
Pair Engraving of Equestrian Engravings After Works by John Wootton (1683-1764)
By John Wootton
Located in Pasadena, CA
This is a pair of engravings after paintings of seminal English racing bloodlines that date to the early 18th century. The Darley Arabian and The Byerley Turq were two of the three s...
Gold Leaf
Pair of 18th Century French Vue D'Optiques
Located in Doylestown, PA
Pair of late 18th century hand-colored French Vue d’Optiques, “Vue du Chateau de St. Germain en Laye,” and “Le Jardin et le Palais du Luxembourg a Paris,” framed.
Paper
Large 19th Century French Hand-Colored Aquatints by Debucourt, a Pair
Located in Plainview, NY
A pair of large 19th century French hand-colored aquatints by Philibert Louis Debucourt (1755-1832) after Carl Vernet (1758-1836). One aquatint is is depicting Prussian cuirassier, ...
Wood, Paper
French Directoire Period Framed Print of a Bed Treatment
Located in Doylestown, PA
A French Directoire Period print showing a bed treatment, probably from a tapisserie catalogue, under glass in a gilt and ebonized frame.
Paper
18th Century Colored Print Couple
Located in Madrid, ES
Colored engravings couple in Directoire style with classical scene. Original frames.
Paper