Louis XV Seating
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 Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Silk, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
Early 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood, Tapestry
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Giltwood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Oak
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Textile
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Cane, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Wood
1850s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Leather, Wood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Cane, Fruitwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Muslin, Wood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Giltwood
1850s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Textile, Beech
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Wood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Wood
1880s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Giltwood
1890s German Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
1890s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood
1890s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
19th Century Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood
19th Century Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric
1890s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Tapestry, Rosewood
19th Century Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Mohair, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Brass
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1860s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Antique Louis XV Seating
Tapestry, Giltwood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Louis XV Seating
Giltwood
1860s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fruitwood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Gold Leaf
1870s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Oak
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Cane
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Silk, Wood
19th Century Italian Antique Louis XV Seating
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Cane, Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Paint
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Wood
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood
1880s French Antique Louis XV Seating
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Louis XV Seating
Fabric, Wood