Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
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.
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Nutwood
Early 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
Early 1900s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass, Bronze
1890s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1860s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1920s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Breccia Marble, Bronze
1930s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
1960s American Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
Mid-18th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry, Maple, Walnut
1890s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
1790s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry
Late 18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany, Sycamore, Walnut
Early 19th Century Scandinavian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
1990s Italian Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
Early 20th Century French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass
1940s European Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble
2010s British Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Tulipwood, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 20th Century French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
Early 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
2010s American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wire, Brass
Early 20th Century French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass
1790s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
1890s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak, Walnut
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Ormolu
1880s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
20th Century Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather, Oak
Mid-18th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Brass
18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry, Oak
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry, Oak, Lacquer
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble