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.
Auguste-Nicolas CAÏN, two monumental bronze groups, original stone bases, 1893
By Auguste Cain, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
These two groups were commissioned by Jacques Stern (1839-1902) from one of the greatest animal painters of the second half of the 19th century, Auguste-Nicolas Caïn, renowned for hi...
Stone, Bronze
Joseph Simon Volmar (Berne, 1796-1865), Pair of bears in cast iron
By Josef Volmar
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Joseph Simon Volmar (or Vollmar) (Bern, 1796-1865) was a Swiss painter and sculptor. Born to a painter father, he was his student at the Bern Art School and later studied in Paris be...
Limestone, Iron
19th Century Antique French Carved Sandstone Female Bust Garden Statue Sculpture
Located in St. Louis, MO
Antique 19th Century French hand carved sandstone female bust garden statue or sculpture. Female carved head and base, with flowing hair, covered bonnet on back of head, ribbon and ...
Sandstone
Pair Of 19th-century Cast Iron Torchères, L. Gasne Foundry In Tusey
Located in Charmes, FR
A sublime and rare pair of cast iron torchères from the Louis Gasne foundry in Tusay, dating from the 19th century, depicting Stella and Phoebe on their original bases. In good condi...
Iron
Ducel Foundry after Pierre Loison, Young Girl with a Conch, mid-19th century
By J.J. Ducel, Pierre Loison 1
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
This statue, titled Young Girl with a Conch, was cast by the Ducel Foundry after a work by Pierre Loison in the mid-19th century. The sculptor Pierre Loison (or Loyson) (1816-1886) began his career as an apprentice to a clog maker. Noticed for his talent, he was able to study sculpture in the studio of David d’Angers and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received numerous official commissions and exhibited in nearly every Salon from 1845 until 1886, the year of his death, as well as at the 1855 Universal Exhibition. The Ducel Foundry was founded in 1800 in Touraine. It was successively managed by three generations of the Ducel family: Jacques, Jean-Jacques, and Jacques-Gustave. The company had a store in Paris and gained recognition by participating in various international exhibitions held in the second half of the 19th century. It was purchased by the Val d’Osne Foundry in 1878. This sculpture depicts a young girl seated on a rock by the water’s edge. She may represent a naiad, a deity associated with rivers and springs. Her posture conveys movement, as if she is about to enter the water: her face and torso lean forward, she holds onto the rock with her left hand, and in her right hand, she grasps a conch shell, which could emit a jet of water. A drapery covers her waist, and both legs extend toward the water. The statue bears an inscription on the base indicating its origin: “JJ DUCEL...
Iron
Pair of Early 20th Century French Garden Statues
Located in Houston, TX
A lovely pair of 20th century concrete garden figures from France. He is perched next to an oak stump with foliage and acorns in hand. She carries two floral...
Concrete
19th Century Classical Stone Bust
Located in NYC, NY
A good 19th century carved stone bust. The handsome figure in Greco-Roman attire with toga draped across the chest and a laurel wreath around his head. ...
Stone
$5,120Sale Price|20% Off
H 19 in W 11 in D 40 in
Handsome Pair of 19th Century American or English Cast Iron Lions
Located in Richmond, VA
Handsome Pair of 19th Century American or English Lions with Proud Paws.
Iron
Pair of 19th Century Terra Cotta Winged Lions
Located in Troy, NY
Pair of 19th Century Terra Cotta Winged Lions. Well articulated, impressive pair of terra cotta winged lions, in seated position and holding heraldic shields between their front paws...
Terracotta
18th or 19th Century White Marble Bust of a Young Woman
Located in Berlin, DE
The marble bust facing frontal with her eyes looking to her right. The hair fastened in a skillfull knot behind, the drapery covers her shoulders and breasts, with another section un...
Carrara Marble
19th Century Lead Statues, Four Seasons
Located in Bloomfield Hills, MI
In the grand tradition of classical mythology, these four lead sculptures represent the original personifications of nature in all their seasonal aspects. Each figure has been creat...
Lead
$5,500 / set
H 14 in W 31 in D 12 in
Pair of English 1920s Cast Stone Reclining Lion Sculptures on Conforming Bases
Located in Atlanta, GA
A pair of English cast stone reclining lions statues from the early 20th century, on rectangular bases. Created in England during the first quarter of the 20th century, each of this ...
Cast Stone
Late 19thC Cast Iron Lawn Jockey in Old Paint
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Spectacular and most likely a 19th century representation of a lawn jockey in cast iron. In excellent antique condition with minimal wear, some separation at the seams where they joi...
Iron
$17,486Sale Price / set|50% Off
H 22.84 in W 42.13 in D 17.72 in
Exceptional Pair of Monumental Bronze Lions
Located in Manzano, IT
prestigious pair of mirror bronze sculptures depicting lions in "couchant" (crouching) pose. These visually and artistically striking pieces come from the outdoor furnishings of a hi...
Bronze
$64,000
H 29.25 in W 63 in D 23.5 in
19th Century Antique Marble Fountain Basin with Mythological Carvings
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique rectangular fountain basin or in the style of the late Hellenistic period with minor repairs. This garden ornament features impressive mythological carvings of the art mus...
Marble
$96,000 / set
H 47.5 in W 35.5 in D 29.5 in
20th Century Pair of Italian Triton Garden Statues - Antique Marble Sculptures
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Circa 20th Century, a pair of large antique garden statues hand carved in natural stone named Biancone d’Istria Marble. These antique natural st...
Marble
Pair Of Antique Cast Iron Figures Of Ducks
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A duo of antique cast iron ducks. . Both naturalistically formed, presented standing with wings tucked back. Beautifully formed and nicely patinated creating an attractive rustic fin...
Iron
Sold
H 53.15 in W 23.63 in D 19.69 in
"Bacchante and Bacchant", Exceptional Pair of Terracotta Statues, circa 1880
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
These exceptional terracotta statues, made to slightly overlook the spectator, are typical of the Napoleon III style . They evoke the festive spirit of the Second Empire, which saw t...
Terracotta
20th Century Bronze Group of Two Horses and a Dog
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Superb 20th Century quality bronze sculpture of two horses cautiously defending eachother with a gilt figure of a dog barking at them. Finely cast after the original by Pierre Jules Mene, (sculptor), 1810 - 1879, entitled 'L'accolade'. This mid-20th Century casting has crisp detail and a rich dark brown patina. It stands on its original cast gilt plinth...
Bronze
Sold
H 74.02 in W 15.75 in L 74.02 in
Beautiful 19th Century Garden Statue Of a Girl on a Limestone Pedestal
Located in Made, NL
A beautiful 19th Century statue of a girl on a pedestal in perfect dimensions. This can also be used as a fountain and is carved from French limestone. Provenance : Grand Maison Bou...
Limestone
19th Century Pair of Flares in Cast Iron Enamelled by Durenne
Located in Marseille, FR
Pair of enameled cast iron flares by Durenne 19th century Foundry Sommevoire in Haute Marne, height dimension about 170 cm, globe included depth 30 cm x 40 cm width.
Iron
Sold
H 22.84 in W 7.88 in D 7.88 in
19th Century Napoleon III French Durot Bronze and Marble Base Sculpture
By Louis Durot
Located in Valladolid, ES
French bronze sculpture "Il Improvisatore" by Durot, 19th French school. With a black marble base .It’s signed and it has a stamp. It’s an interesting sculpture neorrealista, circa ...
Marble, Bronze
Sold
H 53.15 in W 23.23 in D 27.56 in
19th French sculpture Napoleón III Walnut Wood Allegory of Summer
Located in Valladolid, ES
Stunning summer allegory walnut wood sculpture 19th century, Napoleón III, France, circa 1860. Monumental sculpture that together with another that represents the allegory of summer...
Wood
Sold
H 53.15 in W 23.23 in D 27.56 in
19th French Sculpture Napoleón III Walnut Wood , Allegory of Spring
Located in Valladolid, ES
Stunning spring allegory walnut wood sculpture S XIX, Napoleón III, France, circa 1860. Monumental sculpture that together with another that represent...
Wood
Mid-19th Century Triton Sculpture
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Metal triton sculpture holding a long decorative shell as a water feature and supported by three Dauphins grotesques, circa 1840-1850. The Grotto styl...
19th Century Italian Terra Cotta Clay Bust of Marco Aurelio
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique Italian clay bust of the Italian emperor Marco Aurelio made of hand crafted Terra Cotta, raised on a round short base with an aged surface, in...
Terracotta
French Marble and Bronze Pedestal
Located in Essex, MA
With swivel rectangular top over a cylindrical column with cast bronze caps , square stepped base with flat bronze feet.
French Napoleon III Period Carved Stone Statue of a Woman
Located in Round Top, TX
An exceptionally beautiful French Napoleon III period carved stone statue of an elegant woman. This is a magnificent piece to grace any garden or interior.
Stone