The style of 18th-century French furniture was guided by the court. When Louis XV, who reigned from 1715–74, focused royal life on the smaller salons of Versailles rather than its grand chambers, it transformed the aesthetics away from the imposing and angular furniture that characterized the style of Louis XIV. A broader focus on comfort and more delicate forms define antique Louis XV furniture, with nature-inspired carvings, wood inlays, curved cabriole legs, asymmetrical shapes and rounded oval seat backs. The furnishings changed throughout the king’s life, as he ascended to the throne as a child and then grew to establish his own tastes.
Pieces like the bergère, an upholstered armchair with a wide cushion that fit the flowing dresses in fashion at the time, reflected this more informal court. Introduced at the start of Louis XV’s reign, bergère chairs in this style were deeper and broader than other chairs of the period.
Louis XV tapestries and carpets tended to be floral and colorful, and design elements were borrowed from Asia. Dutch-born cabinetmaker Bernard van Risenburgh brought lacquer techniques influenced by Japan and China into his luxuriously made furniture. Along with its fine details, the furniture of the era also featured new innovations including mechanical devices. Jean François Oeben, a royal cabinetmaker, created such intricate pieces as a mechanical table for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress. It involved a sliding top and a writing surface that extended from its marquetry panels.
During the later years of Louis XV’s reign, there was a shift from the ostentatious rocaille style, part of the exuberantly decorative Rococo movement in Europe for which designers such as Nicolas Pineau and Juste-Aurèle Meissonier are known. The style under Louis XVI would return to boxier forms, but with a neoclassical touch inspired by the ancient world.
Find antique Louis XV bedroom furniture, seating, tables and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
19th Century French Louis XV Style Bronze Box.
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in Houston, TX
19th Century French Louis XV Style Bronze Box. This stunning antique French bronze box with a hinged lid, decorated with cupids surrounded with Sèvres-style porcelain floral and figurative plaques...
Bronze
Very large Louis XV style Casket in rosewood, gilt bronze and porcelain
Located in Paris, FR
A large Louis XV style rosewood veneered casket with gilt bronze mountings. The box has a gilt rosewood veneer on all sides and is mounted in chevrons. The corners are underlined by ...
Bronze
Period French Mother-of-Pearl Jewelry Boxes
Located in Roma, IT
A splendid and rare jewellery box completely covered in mother-of-pearl. On the top is an antique hand-painted miniature with a bucolic subject by a follower of François Boucher. The...
Mother-of-Pearl, Velvet
Bruguier Tortoiseshell Swiss Fusée Singing Bird Box
Located in New Orleans, LA
This extremely rare, early Swiss automaton singing bird box by the famed Charles Bruguier is housed in a case enveloped in luxurious tortoiseshell. Ev...
Gold
Duke and Duchess of Windsor Gold Snuff Box
Located in New Orleans, LA
This important Louis XV gold snuff box is from the prestigious collection of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The engine-turned gold box or...
Gold
Onyx, Champlevé and Gilt Bronze Jewelry Box, Louis XV Style, France, circa 1890
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Onyx, champlevé and gilt bronze jewelry box. Louis XV style, France, circa 1890.
Onyx, Bronze
French 19th century Louis XV st. Ormolu and Tortoiseshell box
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A high quality and most elegant French 19th century Louis XV st. Ormolu and Tortoiseshell box. This truly stunning rectangular box is raised on four scrolling Ormolu acanthus leaf le...
Ormolu
18th Century Porcelain Snuff Box by Hochst, Germany circa 1740
Located in Lambertville, NJ
An 18th century porcelain snuff or trinket posx, hand painted with a gilt bronze rim and hinge. Made in Germany by Hochst porcelain with a gold pinwheel hallmark dating this to 1740...
Porcelain
Antique French Bronze Ormolu Interior Lined Casket With Wedgewood Inserts
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 5 in W: 8 3/4 in D: 3 1/2 in This beautiful antique 19th century bronze ormolu interior fitted jewelry casket with Wedgewood plaque inserts is made of the highest qu...
Bronze, Ormolu
Miniature Salesman's Sample French Louis XV Inlaid Jewelery Box
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This exquisite miniature French Louis XV inlaid jewelry box is a rare and charming example of a salesman’s sample, created with the same craftsmanship and detail as full-scale 19th-c...
Brass
19th Century Blue Royal Vienna Porcelain Jewelry Casket
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions: Height: 4 1/4in Width: 4 3/4in Depth: 3 3/4in This antique 19th century Royal Vienna jewelry casket is made of the highest quality! Made in the 1890's, this petite jewe...
Bronze
Mid-19th Century Limoges Enamel Flask
By Limoges
Located in Paris, FR
Small flask in Limoges enamel and silver mounts with its original stopper. All of its surfaces are decorated with figures set in a gallant landscape. On the body, a couple of young l...
Silver, Enamel
Louis XV Vari-Color Gold & Enamel Snuff Box - France - Late 18th Century
Located in Chatham, ON
Exceptional Louis XV vari-color gold and black enamel snuff box - featuring a bouquet of flowers with two attending butterflies to the top (all in yellow, white, rose and green gold)...
Gold, Enamel
Composition of red tortoiseshell gold piqué-work box, 18th century
Located in Paris, FR
Circular box in composition of red tortoiseshell powder called "Indian red". Inlays of nets in the form of waves of different shades of gold (rose gold and white) run across the lid...
Gold
Large Antique Sevres Style Porcelain Dresser Box / Jewelry Casket
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in New York, NY
Large antique Sevres French Louis XV style porcelain dresser box measuring 13 by 8 1/4 by 5 1/4 inches with large hand-painted cartouche depicting lovers seated in the countryside, s...
Bronze
Louis XV Mother-of-pearl Snuffbox
By Louis Robin
Located in New Orleans, LA
This Louis XV-period gold-mounted snuff box features lustrous panels of inlaid mother-of-pearl. The whimsical box takes the form of a barrel and features hinged lids on both ends. Di...
Gold
Antique French Pewter Decorative Louis XV Style Stamp Box Case Etains D’Art
Located in Greven, DE
Antique French Pewter Decorative Louis XV Style Stamp Box Case Etains D’Art French Pewter Late 19th Century Dimensions: H x W x D: 3cm x 8cm x 5cm Crafted in the late 19th cen...
Pewter
Montesquieu Portrait Tortoiseshell Snuff Box
By Jacques Joseph de Gault
Located in New Orleans, LA
An exquisite miniature of French philosopher Charles Montesquieu graces the lid of this tortoiseshell-lined snuff box. The handsome portrait was fash...
Gold, Enamel
19th Century French Marquetry Miniature Sample Commode
Located in Winter Park, FL
An early 19th century French marquetry commode de maitrise, or miniature sample commode. Made veneer of mahogany with pine and beech as a secondary w...
Beech, Mahogany, Pine
Antique Oval Bronze Box With Hand-painted Miniature – Signed "p. Brin"
Located in Bilzen, BE
Offered for sale is an exquisite antique French bronze jewelry or trinket box, featuring an elaborate pierced Rococo-style design and a finely hand-painted miniature pastoral scene, ...
Bronze
Carved Boxwood Tobacco Box – Louis XV Period, 18th Century, Architectural Scene
Located in Bilzen, BE
"Carved Boxwood Tobacco Box – Louis XV Period, 18th Century, Architectural Scene " 18th-Century French Carved Boxwood Tobacco Box – Louis XV Period, Religious Architectural Scene Ori...
Wood
Lacquered Chinoiserie Wig Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautifully decorated hand carved, painted and lacquered, hinged wig box with chinoiserie theme gilding and paint design. Chinese red painted interior. Bras...
Brass
19th Century French Louis XV Carved Walnut Panetière Cabinet from Provence
Located in Dallas, TX
A superb example of provincial craftsmanship, this richly carved walnut panetière was crafted in Provence circa 1830. The hanging bread cabinet features an arched crest topped with t...
Walnut
Louis XV Style French Farinerio Flour Box with Carved Floral Décor
Located in Atlanta, GA
This 19th-century French Louis XV-style walnut farinerio flour box exemplifies the perfect union of form and function. Crafted from warm-toned walnut, the box features intricately ca...
Walnut
Antique French Louis XV Style Kingwood Marquetry Signed Bibus
By Paul Sormani
Located in Forney, TX
A stunning, rare fine quality French gilt bronze mounted Kingwood marquetry bibus (miniature bibliothèque). In the manner of/possibly by celebrated ébéniste Maison Paul Sormani; the ...
Brass, Bronze, Ormolu
Antique French Black Cut Crystal and Bronze Jewelry Box with Enamel Decorations
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 4 1/4 in W: 4 1/2 in D: 3 in This Antique French 19th Century Black Cut Crystal and Bronze Jewelry Box showcases the remarkable craf...
Crystal, Bronze, Enamel
$1,515Sale Price|20% Off
Cherry wood and native wood box from the 18th century
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Very large slurry box with parts in native wood veneer, marquetry nets and geometric decorations in marquetry on the top. The box rests on four arched feet in the Louis XV style. Thi...
Wood
Miniature Provençale Louis XV Period 1725 Apprentice Commode with Lift Top
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Provençale Louis XV period miniature apprentice commode from the early 18th century, with lift top and cabriole legs. Born in Provence during the reign of King Louis XV, thi...
Bronze
Large Old Paris Porcelain Bombé Shaped White Glazed Box-Hinged and Footed
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Large Old Paris Porcelain box with a white glaze in the form of a bombé commode. The top panel is of a nude woman with two dogs. The front panel ...
Metal
$2,916Sale Price|35% Off
18th Century Louis XV Painted Silver Leaf Display Case Tabernacolo, circa 1770
Located in Encinitas, CA
An elegantly detailed, late 18th century Louis XV period wooden display case, golden yellow lacquer with silver leaf accents. As a reliquary or tabernacolo, the box may have been used to display or store religious artifacts...
Silver Leaf
19th century French Louis XV Style Walnut Provençale Salt Box, 1890s
Located in LEGNY, FR
Very nice Louis XV style Provençal walnut salt box dating from the end of the 19th century. Top tray that lifts and small drawer at the bottom. Artisanal work. Good condition.
Walnut
Vintage Italian Commode Jewelry Box Chest Miniature French Louis XV Style
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Miniature French Louis XV Style Italian Commode Jewelry Chest. Item features a distressed finish, 2 drawers, nicely carved cabriole legs, lightly carved floral and scrollwork...
Wood
Louis XV Gold-Mounted Lacquer Snuff Box
Located in Spencertown, NY
The cover and base inset with gouache miniatures of the front and back of a chateau, signed Andre inv. with tortoiseshell lined interior maker's mark JG cross between, Paris, 1762-1768.
Gold
Antique French Louis XV Styled Miniature Two Drawer Dresser or Jewelry Chest
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This miniature antique two drrawer dresser is unsigned, but presumed to have originated from France and date to approximately 1850 and done in the period Louis XV style. The dresser ...
Brass
$978Sale Price|30% Off
French 1750 Antique Double Compartment Pocket Snuff Flask Carved In Coquille Nut
Located in Miami, FL
Pocket snuff flask carved from coquille nut. Amazing small pocket snuff bottle, carved from a large coquille nut. This antique piece was created in the shape of a spinning top with two secret compartments which can be unscrewed to open. Made in the continental Europe and most probably French or Portuguese provenance from the 18th century, circa 1780. Extensively decorated with organic and floral motifs with a beautiful image of a nut on the upper part. Curiously due to the shape of this piece, it could be played as a spinning tool on a table. This adds a particular interest for the multiple use with which the carving was conceived. Weight: 42.60 Grams. Measurements: Diameter of 40 mm and a height of 89 mm (1.57 x 3.5 Inches). Hallmarks: No marks, gorgeous deep antique patina. Coquille Nut The coquille nut emanates from swampy areas on the eastern side of South America, from a palm known as the “attalea funiefera”. Brazilians call it “Piassabe”. The nuts were introduced into Western Europe in the mid-16th century, and used for small carved objects until the end of the 19th century. Coquille nut is a fruit of a Brazilian palm...
Chestnut, Fruitwood
A Louis XV Ormolu mounted Tulipwood, Kingwood & Parquetry Collectors Cabinet
By Jean-François Oeben
Located in Sheffield, MA
A Fine Louis XV Ormolu mounted Tulipwood, Kingwood & Parquetry Collectors Cabinet Mid 18th Century Attributed to Jean-François Oeben The shaped marble top over a shaped cabinet with tulipwood, kingwood & parquetry throughout, with tambour shutters revealing a re-fitted interior with 6 graduating drawers, all over four cariole legs ending in gilt bronze sabots. Height 41 in. Width 38 in. Depth 20 in. Jean-François Oeben, ébéniste du roi in 1754 and maître in circa 1761. Jean-François Oeben was a sub-tenant of charles-joseph boulle (1688–1751) in the galleries of the louvre from 1751, and in 1754 was granted lodgings at the gobelins and then at the arsenal in 1756. he was appointed ebéniste du roi in 1754 and was therefore able to work outside guild restrictions. he was a protégé of the marquise de pompadour, the marquis de marigny and the duc de choiseul. his identifiable works span less than ten years. his earliest pieces are in the louis xv style (e.g. small table, 1756–8; munich, residenzmus.), and he seems even to have completed some pieces started by jean-pierre latz (e.g. pair of corner cupboards...
Hand Painted Floral Wig Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A beautiful hand painted, domed shape wig box with brass corners and incised brass surround around lock. Painted interior.
Brass