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.
1780s Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry, Nutwood
2010s British Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Tulipwood, Walnut
20th Century French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
1790s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wire
2010s American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
20th Century American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Oak
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
1870s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1910s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
20th Century Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry
1950s Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
Early 19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Ormolu, Bronze
Early 19th Century Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
Early 1800s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Fruitwood
1850s Russian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass, Bronze
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry, Oak
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Ormolu
1950s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Brass
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Silver, Brass
1950s American Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble, Bronze
1950s American Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry
Late 18th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Gold Leaf
1950s American Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1810s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Lacquer, Wood, Cherry, Oak
Late 18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
18th Century and Earlier French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
Mid-17th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Walnut
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Masonite, Paint
Mid-18th Century Italian Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry, Maple, Walnut
19th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Metal, Iron
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry, Oak
2010s American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
1960s Unknown Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Carrara Marble
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
Early 20th Century French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Leather, Mahogany
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood, Cherry, Oak
1890s French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Bronze
Late 18th Century French Antique Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
2010s French Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Cherry, Wood, Oak, Lacquer
1990s European Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Wood
2010s American Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Brass
1940s French Vintage Directoire Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets
Marble, Bronze