Directoire Club Chairs
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.
19th Century French Antique Directoire Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1970s French Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Directoire Club Chairs
Walnut
Early 20th Century British Directoire Club Chairs
Cane, Beech, Upholstery
Early 20th Century French Directoire Club Chairs
Leather, Oak
1930s French Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Fabric, Walnut, Softwood
1960s European Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Walnut
2010s American Directoire Club Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
Early 1900s French Antique Directoire Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Directoire Club Chairs
Leather
18th Century French Antique Directoire Club Chairs
Wood
1960s Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Fabric
1930s French Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Bouclé, Walnut
1940s French Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Wood
1970s American Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
Early 1800s French Antique Directoire Club Chairs
Mahogany
1940s French Vintage Directoire Club Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany