Napoleon III Furniture
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.
20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Giltwood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Textile, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Ormolu, Bronze
20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Copper
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bamboo, Wood
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal, Silver Plate, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Copper, Iron, Wrought Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Canvas, Paint
1950s Belgian Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Fabric, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Linen, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal, Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Malachite, Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Canvas, Giltwood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal, Bronze, Copper, Tin
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Copper, Iron, Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Late 20th Century Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century Danish Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Walnut, Burl
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Giltwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Metal, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Brass
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1860s Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Rosewood
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Satin, Silk, Beech
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Hardwood, Mahogany, Porcelain, Mother-of-Pearl
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Velvet, Maple
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Kingwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Iron
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Kingwood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Silver Plate
1970s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Iron, Wrought Iron
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
1990s North American Napoleon III Furniture
Satin, Silk
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Agate
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Sterling Silver
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Velvet, Beech
Mid-19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Walnut
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Tortoise Shell
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Iron
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Canvas