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Napoleon III Boxes

NAPOLEON III STYLE

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.

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Style: Napoleon III
Game Box, 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Game box, 19th century. Napoleon III period game box, 19th century in precious wood marquetry. Measures: H: 5 cm, W: 22 cm, D: 13 cm.
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Wood

Game Box, 19th Century
Game Box, 19th Century

Game Box, 19th Century

Antique Napoleon III Game box with Brass and Burl Wood Marquetry
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
Beautiful antique game box from the French Napoleon III period. The box is made of various types of wood marquetry inlaid with brass trims. This box s...
Category

1880s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Copper

Antique Napoleon III Game box with Brass and Burl Wood Marquetry
Antique Napoleon III Game box with Brass and Burl Wood Marquetry

Antique Napoleon III Game box with Brass and Burl Wood Marquetry

19th Century French Parquetry Ebonized Domed Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Signed by maker on lock. Paris, France. Bronze/brass mounted.
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Brass, Bronze

19th Century French Parquetry Ebonized Domed Box
19th Century French Parquetry Ebonized Domed Box

19th Century French Parquetry Ebonized Domed Box

Box Sevres Porcelain Romantic Scene
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sevres porcelain romantic scene box napoleon III style Origin france hand painted 19th century circa 1890 with no stamp perfect condition.
Category

1890s European Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Box Sevres Porcelain Romantic Scene
Box Sevres Porcelain Romantic Scene

Box Sevres Porcelain Romantic Scene

Antique Black Lacquer and Brass Trinket Decorative Box
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
19th Century Napoleon III period black lacquer jewelry or trinket box features an intricate lid. Intricately decorated lid highlights this beautiful trinket box, circa 1860's. The pe...
Category

1860s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Wood

Antique Black Lacquer and Brass Trinket Decorative Box
Antique Black Lacquer and Brass Trinket Decorative Box

Antique Black Lacquer and Brass Trinket Decorative Box

Belt with Napoleon III style enameled Sterling silver decoration Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Giorgio Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Belt in real black lizard reptile with rectangular buckle in gilded 925/1000 silver with translucent fired enamel on guilloche surrounded by engraving of enamelled leaves, in French ...
Category

1990s Italian Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Enamel

Belt with Napoleon III style enameled Sterling silver decoration Salimbeni
Belt with Napoleon III style enameled Sterling silver decoration Salimbeni

Belt with Napoleon III style enameled Sterling silver decoration Salimbeni

Sevres Porcelain Chest Romantic Scene 'Lux'
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sevres porcelain chest romantic scene (Lux) signed Lux 19th century crica 1900.
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Sevres Porcelain Chest Romantic Scene 'Lux'
Sevres Porcelain Chest Romantic Scene 'Lux'

Sevres Porcelain Chest Romantic Scene 'Lux'

French Silver Mounted Mother of Pearl Engraved Box, circa 1800
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
An exceptional and fine antique French silver mounted mother of pearl box and with an exquisitely carved ducal with a maiden holding a coronet, elaborate monogram and a rod of Caduce...
Category

1790s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Mother-of-Pearl

French Silver Mounted Mother of Pearl Engraved Box, circa 1800
French Silver Mounted Mother of Pearl Engraved Box, circa 1800

French Silver Mounted Mother of Pearl Engraved Box, circa 1800

19th Century French Cast Iron Shell-Form Coal Bucket
Located in Dallas, TX
This antique coal scuttle was created in France, circa 1870. Built of cast iron, and shaped as a shell with foliage repousse decor, the patinated bucket stands on escargot feet over ...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Iron

19th Century French Cast Iron Shell-Form Coal Bucket
19th Century French Cast Iron Shell-Form Coal Bucket

19th Century French Cast Iron Shell-Form Coal Bucket

Table Box Enamel on guillochè with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle S
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round table box in 925/1000 sterlin silver gold plated with fired enamels, with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle, fine fired enamelled miniature with hand-painted floral image by the painter Bruno Corsari, striped enamelled border vertical. Napoleon III French Empire...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel, Gold

Table Box Enamel on guillochè with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle S
Table Box Enamel on guillochè with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle S

Table Box Enamel on guillochè with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle S

19th-Century Black Rosewood Liquor Case in the Style of Napoleon III
Located in Opole, PL
19th-Century Black Rosewood Liquor Case in the Style of Napoleon III We present you this set (incomplete) composed of two decanters and eight glasses. All...
Category

Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Glass, Rosewood

19th-Century Black Rosewood Liquor Case in the Style of Napoleon III
19th-Century Black Rosewood Liquor Case in the Style of Napoleon III

19th-Century Black Rosewood Liquor Case in the Style of Napoleon III

Table Box Sterling Silver Striped Paillons in pure Gold and flowers Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round table box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fired enamels, with “paillons” in pure gold on the upper circle, fine floral miniature fired enamelled by the painter Renato Dainelli, enamelled border with vertical stripes. Napoleon III French Empire...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver

Table Box Sterling Silver Striped Paillons in pure Gold and flowers Salimbeni
Table Box Sterling Silver Striped Paillons in pure Gold and flowers Salimbeni

Table Box Sterling Silver Striped Paillons in pure Gold and flowers Salimbeni

Antique French D'Ore Bronze 2nd Empire Box, Napoleon III
Located in North Miami, FL
Antique French dore bronze 2nd Empire stamps box, Napoleon III Era, circa 1850s.
Category

1860s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Antique French D'Ore Bronze 2nd Empire Box, Napoleon III
Antique French D'Ore Bronze 2nd Empire Box, Napoleon III

Antique French D'Ore Bronze 2nd Empire Box, Napoleon III

Snuffbox basket with flowers, in Florentine Renaissance style, Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling Silver gold plated with beautiful fire enamelled miniature hand-painted by the painter Renato Dainelli of a basket with flowers, in ...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Snuffbox basket with flowers, in Florentine Renaissance style, Salimbeni
Snuffbox basket with flowers, in Florentine Renaissance style, Salimbeni

Snuffbox basket with flowers, in Florentine Renaissance style, Salimbeni

France box in the shape of books or Tantalo books Liquor set - leather
By Napoléon III
Located in Valladolid, ES
Amazing Tántalo or book-shaped leather box concealing a beautiful wheel-engraved crystal set, outlined in gold, consisting of two bottles with their stoppers and four finely engrave...
Category

1890s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Crystal

France box in the shape of books or Tantalo books Liquor set - leather
France box in the shape of books or Tantalo books Liquor set - leather

France box in the shape of books or Tantalo books Liquor set - leather

Sèvres Porcelain Box, Enamelled and Gilded, 20th Century, Napoleon III Style.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Sèvres porcelain box, enamelled and gilded, 20th century, Napoleon III style. A 20th century Napoleon III style Sèvres porcelain enamelled and gilt box with gilt brass mounting. H: ...
Category

20th Century French Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Sèvres Porcelain Box, Enamelled and Gilded, 20th Century, Napoleon III Style.
Sèvres Porcelain Box, Enamelled and Gilded, 20th Century, Napoleon III Style.

Sèvres Porcelain Box, Enamelled and Gilded, 20th Century, Napoleon III Style.

Napoleon III Woven Gilt Bronze Handled Basket, Weave Table Box
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Napoleon III woven gilt bronze handled basket -weave table box France, circa 1875 A whimsical, yet intricately woven of a handled basket weave table ...
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Napoleon III Woven Gilt Bronze Handled Basket, Weave Table Box
Napoleon III Woven Gilt Bronze Handled Basket, Weave Table Box

Napoleon III Woven Gilt Bronze Handled Basket, Weave Table Box

French Boarding Student Suit Case Napoleon III Style Pine, circa 1900
Located in Labrit, Landes
French pupil suitcase in pine. This kind of suit case was used by the boarding students to transport their school equipment. In the style of Napoleon III Shipping: L 39,5 P17 ...
Category

Early 20th Century European Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Metal

French Boarding Student Suit Case Napoleon III Style Pine, circa 1900
French Boarding Student Suit Case Napoleon III Style Pine, circa 1900

French Boarding Student Suit Case Napoleon III Style Pine, circa 1900

19th Century Gilt Bronze Jewelry Box depicting Lovers from Classical Antiquity
Located in NICE, FR
We present you this exquisite gilded bronze box hailing from the Napoleon III period. It represents a scene from Classical Antiquity that captures the romantic rendezvous between two...
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze

19th Century Gilt Bronze Jewelry Box depicting Lovers from Classical Antiquity
19th Century Gilt Bronze Jewelry Box depicting Lovers from Classical Antiquity

19th Century Gilt Bronze Jewelry Box depicting Lovers from Classical Antiquity

Pumpkin-Shaped Candy Box in Opaline, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Pumpkin-shaped candy box in opaline, 19th century, Napoleon III period. A Napoleon III period candy dish, 19th century, in white opaline, forming a pumpkin. H: 16cm, D: 23cm
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Opaline Glass

Pumpkin-Shaped Candy Box in Opaline, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.
Pumpkin-Shaped Candy Box in Opaline, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.

Pumpkin-Shaped Candy Box in Opaline, 19th Century, Napoleon III Period.

Game Box in Wood and Glit Brass, Napoleon III Period
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Game box in lacquered wood marquetry and gilt brass, with tokens inside. Gilding on the extremities of the spiral shape box. Work realized under Napoleon III (1852-1870).   
Category

19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Brass

Game Box in Wood and Glit Brass, Napoleon III Period
Game Box in Wood and Glit Brass, Napoleon III Period

Game Box in Wood and Glit Brass, Napoleon III Period

19th Century French Walnut and Brass Writing Boxe
Located in LEGNY, FR
Beautiful walnut desktop box which opens into a writing slope. Decorated on the outside with 2 decorative inlaid tunbridge ware bands. Box opens out to a beige fabric writing slo...
Category

1890s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Brass

19th Century French Walnut and Brass Writing Boxe
19th Century French Walnut and Brass Writing Boxe

19th Century French Walnut and Brass Writing Boxe

19th Century French Burl Elm Inlaid Jewelry Box with Drawer & Inside Mirror
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a coffee table or a shelf with this elegant antique box. Created in France circa 1880, the rectangular cabinet is decorated with an elegant floral inlaid star motif on the t...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Mercury Glass, Elm, Burl

19th Century French Burl Elm Inlaid Jewelry Box with Drawer & Inside Mirror
19th Century French Burl Elm Inlaid Jewelry Box with Drawer & Inside Mirror

19th Century French Burl Elm Inlaid Jewelry Box with Drawer & Inside Mirror

Napoleon III card holder
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Napoleon III card holder (card fray) Gilt bronze and enamel Origin France Circa 1900 Gilt bronze and Cloissone enamel with hand-painted Sevres porcelain plate signed by E. Horche Per...
Category

Early 1900s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Napoleon III card holder
Napoleon III card holder

Napoleon III card holder

Paul Sormani Fruitwood Box Dedicated to Marie, Dated 1868
By Paul Sormani
Located in New York, NY
Our fruitwood jewelry chest with bronze mounts and plaque dedicated to Marie comes from the esteemed Parisian cabinet maker, Paul Sormani (1817-1877). Signed and dated on the brass.
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Paul Sormani Fruitwood Box Dedicated to Marie, Dated 1868
Paul Sormani Fruitwood Box Dedicated to Marie, Dated 1868

Paul Sormani Fruitwood Box Dedicated to Marie, Dated 1868

Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880
By Alphonse Giroux et Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful ovoid-shaped covered vase in patinated bronze with golden highlights, with rich rotating decoration in relief. The lid, symbolizing Night, is decorated with a turtle, a moon, a dragon flying among the clouds ; and the belly, symbolizing the Day, is decorated with a rising sun, mountainous landscapes, and cherry tree branches. The whole, topped with a flamed seed, is supported by three African-type atlantes dressed in a loincloth. Historical and artistic context This work of art combines elements of Japonism and Orientalism, two important movements representative of the taste of the time for exoticism. Indeed, this taste for Chinoiserie was revived at the end of the 19th century following the Franco-English military campaign against the imperial army in China in 1860. Napoleon III’s French troops bring back part of the treasure from the Summer Palace, constituting in 1863 the famous Chinese Museum of Empress Eugénie at the Palace of Fontainebleau. First in painting, the movement quickly spread to decorative arts and furniture. This craze for the Far East is encouraged in France by the diffusion of Chinese ornamental works renewing the interior decoration of the luxurious Parisian residences of a clientele eager for something new. It was also under the Second Empire that the Orientalists were propelled to the forefront. Emperor Napoleon III, aristocrats as well as wealthy bourgeois in search of exoticism fill the order books of the most renowned artists. It is then not the predominantly academic style of the Orientalists that counts but above all the exoticism that they show to a fascinated public. Biography Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet...
Category

1860s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880
Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880

Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880

Rare Box with a Hand-Painted Medallion of a 19th Century Man, Napoleon III
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
"Rare box with a hand-painted medallion of a 19th century man, Napoleon III period." Miniature box decorated with a hand-painted portrait from the 19th century, Napoleon III period....
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Wood

Rare Box with a Hand-Painted Medallion of a 19th Century Man, Napoleon III
Rare Box with a Hand-Painted Medallion of a 19th Century Man, Napoleon III

Rare Box with a Hand-Painted Medallion of a 19th Century Man, Napoleon III

French Jewelry Box with Sevres-Style Porcelain Mounts in a Walnut Case
Located in Houston, TX
Walnut veneered case with ebonized trim and set with Sevres-style polychrome plaques decorated With children and trophies, set into brass bezels, the interior fitted as a jewelry box.
Category

1890s French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Porcelain, Walnut

French Jewelry Box with Sevres-Style Porcelain Mounts in a Walnut Case
French Jewelry Box with Sevres-Style Porcelain Mounts in a Walnut Case

French Jewelry Box with Sevres-Style Porcelain Mounts in a Walnut Case

Antique French Napoleon III Cut Crystal & Bronze D'ore "Fan Box" circa 1870-1880
Located in New Orleans, LA
Most Unusual Antique French Napoleon III Era Cut Crystal and Bronze D'Ore "Fan Box" Circa 1870-1880.
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Crystal, Bronze

Antique French Napoleon III Cut Crystal & Bronze D'ore "Fan Box" circa 1870-1880
Antique French Napoleon III Cut Crystal & Bronze D'ore "Fan Box" circa 1870-1880

Antique French Napoleon III Cut Crystal & Bronze D'ore "Fan Box" circa 1870-1880

Antique French Napoleon III Rosewood Jewel Box with Silver Inlay Circa 1860-1870
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique French Napoleon III rosewood jewel box with fabulous silver inlay, circa 1860-1870.
Category

Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Silver

Antique French Napoleon III Rosewood Jewel Box with Silver Inlay Circa 1860-1870
Antique French Napoleon III Rosewood Jewel Box with Silver Inlay Circa 1860-1870

Antique French Napoleon III Rosewood Jewel Box with Silver Inlay Circa 1860-1870

Antique Wooden Casket, Covered Impressed Paper
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
French wooden casket, covered with colored and impressed paper with ancient processing system - Suitable for Your photos hanging around waiting to be fix...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Parchment Paper, Wood

Antique Wooden Casket, Covered Impressed Paper
Antique Wooden Casket, Covered Impressed Paper

Antique Wooden Casket, Covered Impressed Paper

Mid-19th Century Wooden Coffer Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl
Located in Paris, FR
Sizeable rectangular, wooden coffer with its key. The blackened wood is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and brass. The lid and the main face of the box are r...
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Brass

Mid-19th Century Wooden Coffer Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl
Mid-19th Century Wooden Coffer Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl

Mid-19th Century Wooden Coffer Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl

Correspondence Box Napoleon III
Located in Madrid, ES
Correspondence box, Napoleon III period, composed on the top of two flaps. Their facades are embellished with Square and Rectangle Marquetry. In add...
Category

19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Boxes

Materials

Wood

Correspondence Box Napoleon III
Correspondence Box Napoleon III

Correspondence Box Napoleon III

Napoleon Iii boxes for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Napoleon III boxes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Late 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Napoleon III boxes made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original boxes, popular names associated with this style include Franco Salimbeni, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Europa Antiques, and Paul Sormani. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $179 and tops out at $1,000,000 while the average work can sell for $1,726.

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