Directoire Style Ebonized Desk
Early 2000s Unknown Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
2010s American Directoire Desks
Leather, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary American Directoire Desks
Brass
Vintage 1940s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mirror, Leather, Wood
Vintage 1980s American Directoire Armchairs
Wood, Cotton
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20th Century Italian Desks
Leather, Cherry
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Vintage 1950s French Directoire Settees
Silk, Wood
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2010s Italian Minimalist Console Tables
Plywood, Oak, Birch
Vintage 1940s Argentine Empire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1960s Unknown Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
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Wood
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Leather, Maple, Walnut
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Vintage 1940s French Desks and Writing Tables
Vintage 1950s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1960s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Vintage 1940s French Desks
Brass
Vintage 1910s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu
Vintage 1910s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1920s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1930s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany, Leather
Antique 19th Century French Directoire Desks
Mahogany, Leather
Mid-20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1950s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Vintage 1930s French Directoire Desks
Mahogany, Leather
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1940s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Directoire Desks
Brass, Gold Leaf
Vintage 1940s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Antique Early 1900s French Directoire Desks
Brass
Antique 1890s French Directoire Desks
Vintage 1910s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze, Brass
Antique 1890s French Directoire Desks
Mahogany
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Gold Leaf
20th Century French Desks
Vintage 1980s American Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1950s Argentine Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
20th Century French Directoire Desks
Brass
Vintage 1940s French Directoire Desks
Brass, Gold Leaf
Antique 1880s French Desks
Mahogany
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks
Brass, Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1940s French Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1940s French Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
Giltwood
Vintage 1960s Argentine Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 1880s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
Antique Late 19th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Vintage 1920s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
20th Century Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Antique 1880s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1930s French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass, Bronze, Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Bronze
20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Wood, Leather
Mid-20th Century French Directoire Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Directoire Style Ebonized Desk For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Directoire Style Ebonized Desk?
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.
Finding the Right desks-writing-tables for You
Choosing the perfect writing desk or writing table is a profoundly personal journey, one that people have been embarking upon for centuries.
Queen Atossa of Persia, from her writing table circa 500 B.C., is said to have been the originator of the art of handwritten letters. Hers was reportedly the first in a long and colorful history of penned correspondence that grew in popularity alongside literacy. The demand for suitable writing desks, which would serve the composer of the letters as well as ensure the comfort of the recipient naturally followed, and the design of these necessary furnishings has evolved throughout history.
Once people began to seek freedom from the outwardly ornate styles of the walnut and rosewood writing desks and drafting tables introduced in the name of Queen Victoria and King Louis XV, radical shifts occurred, such as those that materialized during the Art Nouveau period, when designers longed to produce furniture inspired by the natural world’s beauty. A prime example is the work of the famous late-19th-century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — his rolltop desk featured deep side drawers and was adorned with carved motifs that paid tribute to nature. Gaudí regularly combined structural precision with decorative elements, creating beautiful pieces of furniture in wood and metal.
Soon afterward, preferences for sleek, geometric, stylized forms in furniture that saw an emphasis on natural wood grains and traditional craftsmanship took hold. Today, Art Deco desks are still favored by designers who seek to infuse interiors with an air of luxury. One of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco movement was French decorator and furniture designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. With his use of neoclassical motifs as well as expensive and exotic materials such as imported dark woods and inlays of precious metals for his writing desks, Ruhlmann came to symbolize good taste and modernity.
The rise in appreciation for Scandinavian modernism continues to influence the design of contemporary writing desks. It employs the “no fuss” or “less is more” approach to creating a tasteful, sophisticated space. Sweden’s master cabinetmaker Bruno Mathsson created gallery-worthy designs that are as functional as they are beautiful. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto never viewed himself as an artist, but, like Mathsson, his furniture designs reflected a fondness for organic materials and a humanistic approach. Danish designers such as Hans Wegner introduced elegant shapes and lines to mid-century desks and writing tables, often working in oak and solid teak.
From vintage desks to contemporary styles, 1stDibs offers a broad spectrum of choices for conducting all personal and business writing and reading activities.