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.
18th Century French Directoire Enfilade Made From Walnut
Located in High Point, NC
18th century walnut Directoire enfilade from France. The top is made from the most gorgeous matched grain planks, and banded as well to prevent shrinkage over the years. The top fo...
Walnut
Early 19th Century Italian Painted Buffet
Located in New Orleans, LA
Beautiful 18th century Italian Tuscan Buffet. The Painted Images and the Vibrant Colors make this piece a standout. It is a very large storage piece...
Wood
Directoire French Ebonized Buffet, Circa 1910
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France in the Directoire style. This piece is circa 1910. It is made of solid wood construction, primarily cherry-wood. There are four doors that feature detailed brass h...
Brass
French Directoire Period Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France from the Directoire period; the piece was in the main Salon of a famous French Restaurant in Vienne (Rhone Valley) ”La Pyramide.” This architectural sideboar...
Bronze
Antique French Directoire Stripped Buffet with Carrara Marble Top
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique French Directoire Stripped Buffet with Carrara Marble Top is of superb scale and proportion, yet adds a lighter toned visual presence to the room, thanks to our proprietary s...
Carrara Marble, Brass
French Mid-20th Century Directoire Buffet
Located in Stockbridge, GA
Very interesting, small cabinet with inlay and brass. Elegant with a lot of character.
Walnut
French Handcrafted Directoire Style 2-Door Cabinet in solid-cherry wood
Located in Landivy, FR
This 2-door small sideboard ( "mini-bahut") is a handcrafted reproduction of the French Directoire Style at the end of the 18th century. This period style is remarkable with its str...
Brass
French Directoire Style 2-door 3-drawer cabinet in solid wild cherry wood
Located in Landivy, FR
This cabinet with 2 doors and 3 independent drawers belongs to our MELANIE collection that proposes handcrafted modernized reinterpretated pieces of furniture from the French Louis X...
Wood, Cherry, Oak
French 19th Century Directoire St. Cherry Buffet
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An extremely attractive and elegant French 19th century Directoire st. cherry and ebonized fruitwood inlaid buffet. The buffet is raised by eight square tapered legs with conforming ...
Carrara Marble
$3,984Sale Price|20% Off
18th Century Directoire Period Country French Whitewashed Buffet
Located in Dallas, TX
18th Century Directoire Period Country French Whitewashed Buffet is a splendid example of the tailored architecture made popular just before and after the turn of the 19th century. ...
Brass
Antique Directoire Style French Mahogany Buffet with Carrara Marble Top
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique Directoire Style French Mahogany Buffet with Carrara Marble Top is a striking and elegantly proportioned piece, distinguished by its richly figured veneer and refined, archit...
Carrara Marble, Brass
$7,996Sale Price|20% Off
Fine French Breche D' Alep Marble Top Faux Tambor Doors Directoire Sideboard
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This fine French Directoire style sideboard is a superb example of craftsmanship and elegance, distinguished by its stunning Breche d’Alep marble top and refined architectural form. ...
Breccia Marble, Bronze
Antique French Louis XVI Buffet, Bronze & Marble Top
Located in Senonches, Centre-Val de Loire
Antique 19th Century French Louis XVI style buffet topped with a grey marble, fluted legs finished with golden bronze rings and clogs. Three dovetailed drawers and four doors and the...
Marble, Bronze
French 19th Century Solid Walnut Louis Philippe Enfilade
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A beautiful, solid walnut enfilade from the 19th century, Louis Philippe period. The top surface is simply constructed in four pieces to frame a wide central plank and narrow boards ...
Brass
19th Century French Provencal Bleached Oak Buffet Cabinet
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
French Provincial Painted Oak Buffet, France, 19th Century Folk ornament and gentle patina — a poetic fragment of rural French life. This charming painted oak buffet captures the sp...
Oak
French 19th Century Walnut Louis XVI Style Enfilade
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This 19th century Louis XVI style walnut enfilade is topped with an exciting slab of Verde Patricia marble that beautifully contrasts the linear formality and rich brown tones of the...
Marble
$8,250
H 40.5 in W 75.125 in D 22.375 in
French Empire Buffet, Solid Cuban Mahogany, Marble Top, Antique 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Empire style French antique buffet made of solid wood construction; primarily Cuban flamed mahogany. This piece has been finished with a lustrous French polish of museum quality. Fou...
Marble, Brass
Provincial Buffet in Stripped Oak, France, Late 19th Century
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Provincial Buffet in Stripped Oak, France, Late 19th Century Channeling the softened contours of provincial Louis XV ornament An ode to rustic refinement, this late 19th-century Fre...
Oak
Antique French Vaisselier Buffet Cabinet, Oakwood, Circa 1870-1890
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique French Vaisselier made of hand crafted Oakwood, in good condition. The word Vaisselier refers to a piece of furniture for storing ...
Oak
$3,495
H 38 in W 47.5 in D 22.25 in
Early 19th Century French Restauration Period Book Matched Walnut Buffet
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This early nineteenth century French Restauration period buffet or sideboard originally belonged to a judge in a manor house on the Rue de Carcassonne in the city of Tours. This piec...
Iron
Painted Louis XVI Buffet, French, Carrara Marble, Antique 1920s
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France in the Louis XVI style. This enfilade is made of solid wood construction, primarily mahogany. It has been finished with a hand-painted milk paint in a dove gray Tr...
Marble, Brass
19th Century French Oak Buffet
Located in High Point, NC
19th century oak buffet from France with a banded and beveled edge around the top, following down to simple paneled sides and four central drawe...
Oak
French Buffet Cabinet, Louis XVI Style Ebonized with Marble Top
Located in Montreal, Quebec
French buffet cabinet, Louis XVI style, ebonized with marble top, early 20th century. In the spirit of Hollywood Regency and Maison Jansen. T...
Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Provencal Bleached Oak Buffet Cabinet
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
Folk ornament and gentle patina — a poetic fragment of rural French life. This charming painted oak buffet captures the spirit of French provincial craftsmanship, where everyday fur...
Oak
Directoire Style Ebonized French Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
This impressive French antique grand buffet crafted in the Directoire style is made of solid wood construction, primarily mahogany. It showcases a magnificent neoclassical design wit...
Brass
French Directoire Painted Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France in the Directoire style. This piece is made of solid wood construction that has been finished with a milk paint in the pistachio green color. There is gold leaf tr...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Sold
H 40.75 in W 68 in D 21.75 in
Early 19th Century French Directoire Period Walnut Lyonnaise Enfilade Buffet
Located in Birmingham, AL
A stately early 19th century French Directoire period enfilade buffet, handcrafted in the historic city of Lyon, circa early 1800s. Constructed of rich, solid walnut, this elegant ...
Walnut
French Directoire Small Chest/Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet/cabinet from France in the Directoire style. This piece is made of solid wood construction, primarily mahogany, that has been ebonized and finished with a lustrous French poli...
Marble, Brass
Late 18th Century French Directoire Period Cherry Enfilade Buffet
Located in Birmingham, AL
An elegant late 18th century French Directoire period enfilade buffet, handcrafted from solid cherrywood in Saint-Malo, a historic port city in the Brittany region, circa 1790s. Show...
Brass
Early 20th Century French Directoire Style Walnut Enfilade Buffet
Located in Birmingham, AL
A striking early 20th century French Directoire style enfilade buffet, handcrafted in the Île-de-France region near Paris, circa early 1900s. Showcasing the refined symmetry and unde...
Walnut
Directoire French Antique Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France from the Directoire period. This piece is made of solid wood construction, primarily walnut. There are two dovetailed drawers at the top with wood pulls. Below, tw...
Bronze, Iron
French 19th Century Louis XVI-style Demilune Enfilade
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
Stunning mahogany enfilade in the style of Louis XVI, with classic demilune shape. The top surface is a captivating slab of Brèche d’Alep marble in a range of ochre tones and flashes...
Marble, Brass
Ebonized Directoire French Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France in the Directoire style. This piece is made of solid wood construction, primarily mahogany. This piece has been ebonized and finished with a lustrous French polish...
Brass
Directoire French Ebonized Buffet
Located in Austin, TX
Buffet from France in the Directoire style. This piece is made of solid wood construction, primarily mahogany. This piece has been ebonized and finished with a lustrous French polish...
Brass
Sold
H 41.75 in W 73.75 in D 18.75 in
Antique French Directoire Buffet Restored with an Ebonized Finish Early 1800's
Located in BENSENVILLE, IL
Antique French Directoire Buffet with its Original Marble Top still in place. Our inhouse Old Plank Restoration department carefully stripped the old finish, without the use of any harsh chemicals down to the bare mahogany and rebuilt the entire Directoire Buffet as necessary without taking any shortcuts. After which our Old Plank Finishing department gave the Antique Directoire Buffet an old world Ebonized finish. Directoire style furniture...
Marble, Brass
French Petite Directoire Buffet
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A petite French mahogany Directoire buffet with its original St. Anne marble top. A single compartmentalized drawer sits above a pair of doors made from bookmatched burl mahogany. On...
Marble, Brass