Empire Furniture
EMPIRE STYLE
From 1804–15, Napoléon I reigned as the emperor of France, bringing the country into a new era of opulence after the fall of the monarchy and the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. He declared, “We must have very solid things, made to last 100 years.” Empire-style furniture followed suit, with imposing pieces constructed from mahogany and adorned with gilded ornaments. Expanding on the neoclassicism popularized in the previous century — such as in Louis XVI style — Empire style borrowed from the great civilizations of antiquity, from Egypt to Greece and Rome, to connect this nascent empire to the power of the past.
Napoléon I believed the production of fine furniture would reflect the stature of the republic, with his official architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine leading the way with their work on his residences.
Luxurious materials, symmetrical shapes and bold colors characterize antique Empire-style bedroom furniture, armchairs, cabinets and other structures, with frequent motifs including mythological creatures, geometric designs, acanthus leaves, eagles, bees (the imperial emblem) and swans, a favorite of Empress Joséphine.
Flat surfaces, like marble tabletops, were accented with decadent details, such as the bronze furniture mounts made by sculptor Pierre-Philippe Thomire for the French palaces. Martin-Guillaume Biennais, who worked as the imperial goldsmith, crafted intricate luxury objects that mixed wood, fine metal, mother-of-pearl and ivory. Ormolu — or elaborate bronze gilding — was essential to French design in the 18th and 19th centuries as a cornerstone of the neoclassical and Empire styles.
The style became popular abroad, influencing the American Empire style. Stately pieces carved with sprigs of olives by cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellange were acquired by American President James Monroe for the White House in 1817.
Find a collection of antique Empire tables, lighting, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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Item Ships From: Germany
Style: Empire
Antique 1810 France Cast Iron Bookcase Shelves Flowers
Located in Munich, DE
Charming and elegant shelves made out of cast iron. The front of this slim piece of furniture and the struts are decorated with flowers.
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Iron
French Early 19th Century Empire Crystal-Cut and Gilt-Bronze Basket Chandelier
Located in Berlin, DE
French Early 19th Century Empire Crystal-Cut and Gilt-Bronze Basket Chandelier
A finely proportioned Empire gilt bronze and crystal-cut nine light tent and bag Chandelier. With an a...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
19th Century Miniatur Mantel Clock, Gare La Bombe, Cupido, France, Gilded Bronze
Located in Greven, DE
Pendulette "Gare La Bombe"
France
gilded bronze
first half 19th century
Dimensions: H x W x D: 20 x 15 x 7 cm
Description:
Antique miniature mante...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
19th Century Impressionist Oil Painting, Original Frame, Eugene Delacroix, 1830s
By Eugène Delacroix
Located in Berlin, DE
Oil painting (framed)
Artist: Unknown (style of Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863).
Date: 19th century Title: French lieutenant on horseback leading a Bedouin cavalry.
Medium: Oil on...
Category
1830s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Canvas, Wood
Atelier Musee Du Louvre after Pilon Germain, King Henri II Bust, 1850s, France
By Germain Pilon, Atelier de moulage du Louvre
Located in Biebergemund, Hessen
A French Grand Tour 19th century plaster, bust of French King Henri II made by Atelier de moulage du Louvre between 1854-1865 after Pilon Germain...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Plaster
Late 19th Century Large Empire Style Painted Gilt Wood Wall Mirror
Located in Berlin, DE
Late 19th century large empire style painted gilt wood wall mirror or trumeau
Large rectangular mirror with architectural structure: the central field, consisting of a lower mirro...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mirror, Wood
Vanity Table in Mahogany, Probably Denmark, circa 1830
Located in Greding, DE
Danish Biedermeier dressing table with adjustable mirror with an architectural layout and fire-gilded fittings. The dressing table is equipp...
Category
1830s Danish Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Very Large Mahogany Library with Bronze Corinthian Columns, France 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Large library with an overall height of 290 cm. The three-part architectural front is three-quarters glazed and features Corinthian bronze capitals with solid columns. Measures: Heig...
Category
19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Empire Secretaire, Vienna, circa 1810
Located in Greding, DE
Viennese secretaire on square pointed feet with bronze sabots. The body with beveled corners has a two-door base, a writing flap with central lock and one top drawer. The front side ...
Category
1810s Austrian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
French Empire Ormolu Mantel Clock by Deverberie a Paris, Fire-Gilded
Located in Berlin, DE
French Empire mantel clock from DeVerberie a Paris.
Fire-gilded.
Age-related condition.
Category
19th Century Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Empire Portal Clock, France, Early 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Portal clock on a rectangular, stepped base in mahogany veneered with small bun feet. The stepped architrave is supported by four smooth columns, the capi...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Original Antique French Empire Sofa Mahogany Veneer with Columns
Located in Berlin, DE
Original French Empire sofa, circa 1800.
Mahogany,
right and left, each with columns and fire-gilt bronze fittings.
Some bronze are missing.
Category
19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Wood
Antique Empire Gilt Carved Painted Beech Wood Swedish Trumeau Wall Mirror
Located in Munich, DE
This beautiful beechwood trumeau features fine carvings of two columns and a basquet filled with fruit and flowers. The high relief woodwork is partially guilt and has retained it's ...
Category
1810s Swedish Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Beech
Antique half-round Empire chest of drawers, mahogany, around 1810
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique half-round Empire chest of drawers, mahogany, around 1810
Semi-circular body, one door in the middle flanked by full columns and one drawer each above and below. An extremel...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Wood, Mahogany
Rare French Empire Mahogany Bookcase Library Jacob Desmalter
By François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
Large and very unusual French Empire bookcase in beautifully figured mahogany veneer. Four glazed doors (original glass), interior with original shelves (two on each level allow an adjustment for larger...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Gilded Wall Clock with Dolphins, Signed Ericsson Stockholm
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
Fine and decorative Swedish Cartel clock. Very elaborately carved wooden case flanked by two sculptural dolphins. The dial signed P. Ericsson Stoc...
Category
19th Century Swedish Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Giltwood
Early 19th Century Empire Greek Vanity or Ladies' Desk
Located in Berlin, DE
An early 19th century gilt bronze and walnut veneer ladies desk or dressing table or vanity, with a rectangular grey fossil marble top above two mirror paneled doors and two drawers, flanked by Greek Revival female caryatids, above a folded leather lined writing surface and a frieze drawer, raised on square legs, joined by an incurved stretcher. The whole mounted with finely chased ormolu casts depicting winged figures, ribbons and foliage.
Beautiful early 19th century French Empire small desk...
Category
1810s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Around 1800 Baltic States 4 Dining Chairs Mohagony Brasswire Decor
Located in Epfach, DE
4 chairs for a dining room, around 1800, provenance probably from a noble household in the Baltic States
Mahogany, backrests and seat frames decorated with brass wire, designed in s...
Category
1810s Baltic Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Empire Armchair, Pierre-Benoît Marcion, France, c. 1810
Located in Greding, DE
Armchair by the French ébéniste Pierre-Benoît Marcion with carved lion's heads and paw feet. The frame is made of polished mahogany. The backrests and seats are newly upholstered in ...
Category
1810s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Fabric, Mahogany
Empire Side Table, Vienna, circa 1810
Located in Greding, DE
An elegant Viennese Empire side table in mahogany, crafted around 1810. The table features a single drawer and rests on gracefully curved C-shaped legs with brass sabots. An elevated...
Category
1810s Austrian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Brass, Bronze
Early 19th Century Vase Pendule, Pendulum-Clock, Tardy à Lyon, Empire circa 1820
Located in Greven, DE
Antique vase clock
France
Fire gilded bronze
Empire around 1820
Dimensions: H x W x D: 41 x 13 x 12
Description:
Beautiful all gilt French mantel clock.
The basic form is in the shape of an urn vase with lid...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century Original French Empire Sofa and Armchair Set Made from Mahogany
Located in Berlin, DE
Massive mahogany partly carved. Cambered frame on curly legs. Supports bracing supports for slightly rising armrests in rolled-up volute. High-awned, slightly curved backrest frame w...
Category
19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Neoclassical Gilt Empire Mirror, France
Located in Saarbruecken, DE
Giltwood. Empire mirror.
france 20th century
Patinated art glass.
brass ornaments.
compact messurements!
Category
1950s French Vintage Empire Furniture
Materials
Giltwood
Pair of French Early 19th Century Empire Gilt-Bronze Candlesticks, circa 1820
Located in Berlin, DE
Pair of French early 19th century Empire gilt-bronze candlesticks, circa 1820
Pair of Empire gilt bronze candlesticks, each with a fluted stem, highlighted on top by a finely chas...
Category
1820s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
20th Century Napoleonic Swan Chair in the Empire Style Beechwood Poliment Gilded
Located in Berlin, DE
Very exact Fine-carved sculpture made of solid beech. Poliment gilded. Arranged frame on plastically carved legs ending in claws. Armrests volute-shaped bent in swan head. High-backe...
Category
20th Century French Empire Furniture
Materials
Beech
Pair of Empire Armchairs, France ca. 1810
Located in Leimen, DE
Pair of Antique Empire Armchairs from France, Circa 1810
Discover this exquisite pair of Empire armchairs, crafted in France around 1810. These elegant chairs feature rich mahogany ...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Danish Giltwood Armchair by Gustav Friederich Hetsch
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very decorative and large giltwood armchair after a design by the famous Danish Architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch, (1788-1964). The German born architect worked mostly in Copenhage...
Category
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Giltwood
Antique Empire Chairs from Around 1810-1815
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique Empire chairs from around 1900
Solid wood mahogany. Seat upholstered and covered with black fabric. Very stable and robust built. Hind...
Category
19th Century German Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Empire Bronze Crystal Chandelier, with Fire-Gilded Swans, 19th Century
Located in Berlin, DE
Extremely decorative, heavy and high quality Empire chandelier,
19th century.
No replica. Staffed with five magnificent, fire-gilded bronze swans.
This chandelier impresses with its uniqueness.
The swan is the symbol animal of the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais...
Category
19th Century Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
Empire Work Table with Griffin Decoration, Vienna, early 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Rectangular Viennese work table with one drawer and fine bronze fittings. The unusual partly blackened, partly gold-patinated frame features carved griffins above gold-patinated lion...
Category
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Exceptional armchair, Empire around 1800/10 Walnut
Located in Münster, DE
Exceptional armchair, Empire around 1800/10, solid walnut, patina condition, carved armrests with dolphin-shaped finials, upholstery with old leather cover
Height: 81 cm, width: 60 ...
Category
1810s German Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Nutwood, Leather
Empire Splendid French Saloon Table, Bronze Gilt
Located in Berlin, DE
Finely chased and gilded bronze in wax casting. Three curly legs connected with gutter. Medium with garland-shaped decoration. The legs are in the form of three winged, fully plastic...
Category
20th Century French Empire Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Rarity Low Plafonnier Basket Chandelier Crystal Empire Brass Lustre Antique
Located in Berlin, DE
Presenting our exquisite basket chandeliers, meticulously restored to their former glory with love and care in Berlin. The electrical wiring has been upgraded to work seamlessly in t...
Category
1930s European Vintage Empire Furniture
Materials
Crystal, Brass, Wire
20th Century Empire Style Courtly Lion Secretaire
Located in Berlin, DE
Bird’s eye maple on solid pinewood, partially ebonized. Finely engraved Empire bronze fixtures.
(L-Sam-301).
Category
20th Century Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Monumental Candelabra in Empire Style
Located in Berlin, DE
Bronze, finely engraved and silvered. Chanelled columns with
black patination, as holder for four sweeping candelabra arms.
Measures:
Diameter 33cm,
height 62cm.
Category
20th Century French Empire Furniture
Materials
Brass
20th Century Empire Style Writing Table or Bureau Plat
Located in Berlin, DE
Writing table or bureau plat in Empire style after Jacob Desmalter.
Solid, ebonized beech, partially carved and hand-painted. Cutted out pedestal on profiled disc feet. Over which ar...
Category
20th Century Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Pair of 19th Century Empire Gilt Bronze and Patinated Bronze Victory Candelabras
Located in Berlin, DE
Pair of Large 19th Century Empire Ormolu and Patinated Bronze Victory Sculptures Candelabras in the manner of Philippe Thomire (1751-1843)
A large a...
Category
1820s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Early 19th Century French Empire Gilt Bronze Candlesticks after C. Galle
By Claude Galle
Located in Berlin, DE
Pair of excellent early 19th century French empire gilt bronze candlesticks in the style of Claude Galle (1758-1815):
A tapering stem with rich trelliswork relief divided into thr...
Category
1810s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Set of Empire Armchairs / Chairs, Maple Wood, Paris, 1825
Located in Berlin, DE
Seat group made of maple wood with rosewood intarsia, France, presumably G. Alphonse Jacob, the last of the famous Eben family, probably second quarter of the 19th century. Semi-circ...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Maple
20th Century Empire Style Bronze Casted Figure-Formed Candelabra
Located in Berlin, DE
Finely engraved and casted Bronze. Full plasticised, masculine historical Egyptian representation.
(T-Mr-20-Bp).
Category
20th Century Empire Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Table Mirror, France Early 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Table mirror in mahogany on oak with brass urn-shaped pinnacles and four drawers.
Category
19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Brass
Empire Acajou Mouchete Mahogany Mounted Commode, Attributed to Bernard Molitor
By Bernard Molitor
Located in Berlin, DE
A fine Empire acajou mouchete mahogany commode in the manner of Bernard Molitor (1755-1833). A rectangular oak corpus veneered with acajou mouchete mah...
Category
Early 1800s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Empire Chests of Drawers, Berlin, Early 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Empire chest of drawers with two drawers and quarter columns made of marble. The body is veneered in mahogany, the fittings are made of brass.
Category
Early 19th Century German Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Marble, Brass
Late 19th Century Empire Desk
Located in Stahnsdorf, DE
Large Empire mahogany desk,
France 1890-1900
Large Empire mahogany desk, veneered and with gilded bronze applications. Straight, rectangular body with central knee compartment, flan...
Category
1890s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Pair of Empire girandoles, France, early 19th century
Located in Greding, DE
A pair of French girandoles made of burnished and partly fire-gilt bronze, on a red marble base over spherical decoration. The candelabra figures, designed as Apollo and Diana, carry...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Pair of Empire/ Charles X Gilt and Patinated Bronze Four-Light Wall Appliques
Located in Berlin, DE
Pair of Empire/ Charles X Gilt and Patinated Bronze Four-Light Wall Appliques or Sconces
A pair of Empire/ Charles X four-branch ormolu/gilt and patinated bronze wall lights “à la c...
Category
1820s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Ormolu, Bronze
Original antique Empire Armchair circa 1860-1880 Massive Mahogany bronze
Located in Berlin, DE
Original Empire armchair circa 1860-1880 massive mahogany 2 beautiful armchairs from an Empire room.
Each 2 figures provided cast bronze.
The chairs have a nice curve, in a top...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
French Empire Highboy Dresser, 1810
Located in Leimen, DE
Introducing a stunning French Empire Dresser from 1810, featuring a classic semainier design with five drawers adorned in elegant mahogany veneer...
Category
1810s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Narrow chest of drawers, early 19th century
Located in Greding, DE
Narrow chest of drawers on straight legs with three drawers and a gray stone top. The key plates are in the form of flower bouquets in gilt bronze. The chest of drawers is mahogany v...
Category
Early 19th Century European Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Stone, Bronze
Original Empire Set of a Sofa 2 Armchairs and 1 Table Mahogany with Bronze Figur
Located in Berlin, DE
Original Empire sofa circa 1860-1870 from an Empire room.
Massive mahogany cast with Empire caryadites bronze.
The armchairs are made of a different fabric than the sofa and should b...
Category
19th Century French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Neoclassical Empire Early 19th Century Mahogany Desk Armchair
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
An unusual North European mahogany desk armchair with original brass castors. Fully carved armrests with eagle heads, the design probably by a designer from Berlin or Copenhagen (e.g...
Category
Early 19th Century German Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Brass
Pair of Large Empire Appliqués / Sconces circa 1800, Gilded Linden Wood
Located in Berlin, DE
Pair of large Empire appliqués / sconces circa 1800, gilded linden wood
Solid linden wood, gilded two-flame. Carved, gilded. Ribbon, each with a central, fully sculpted eagle sculpt...
Category
Early 1800s French Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Crystal
Early 19th Century Empire Russian Malachite and Ormolu Paperweight Spaniel Dog
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very fine Russian giltbronze mounted malachite veneered paperweight dating from the early to mid-19th century. The plinth of rectangular form surmounted by a fully sculpted giltbro...
Category
Mid-19th Century Russian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Malachite, Ormolu, Bronze
20th Century Magnificent, Classical Swedish Ceiling Crown, Chandelier
Located in Berlin, DE
Magnificent, classical Swedish ceiling crown, chandelier
Polished brass. Curved, star shaped body with teardrop-shaped, faceted glass hangings, starti...
Category
20th Century Swedish Empire Furniture
Materials
Crystal, Brass
Empire Torchères, Vienna, circa 1800
Located in Greding, DE
Pair of large Empire torches or candelabra on a three-pass base tapering to the top and inlaid with brass inlays in the form of acanthus leaves and floral motifs. Rising above three ...
Category
Early 1800s Austrian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Baltic Set of 6 Empire-Armchairs, Mahogany, Design by Georg Friedrich Hetsch
Located in Göttingen, NI
A rare Baltic set of 6 Empire-armchairs - design by Georg Friedrich Hetsch
Mahogany richly carved and veneered
Side frame construction with inlaid upholstered seat on turned f...
Category
1820s Danish Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Mahogany
Jean-Joseph Chapuis Rare Pair of Empire parcel-gilt japanned Fauteuils
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
Despite his long life, very little is known about the general production of menuisier (chairmaker) Jean-Joseph Chapuis and even less about his use of bent laminates, which must be viewed as the most advanced of its kind until the appearance of Michael Thonet’s work of the 1830s.
The profound reverence for the classical world in enlightened circles in early nine-teenth-century Europe and the United States often resulted in the archaeological resurrection of the art, architecture, and design of ancient Greece and Rome. No chair employing the innovative technique of bending wood more boldly expresses this allegiance to the past than this armchair painted in le style antique and based on the ancient Roman sella curulis (folding stool); With a curved toprail decorated with putti supporting a medaillion and flanked by scrolling acanthus, the arms with ball finials, above a caned seat, on curved supports terminating in foliate gilt-metal sabots. This merger of technological innovation with fashionable aesthetics parallels the work of the American Samuel Gragg...
Category
Early 19th Century Belgian Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Bentwood
Impressive Royal Early 19th Century German Empire Mirror
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A rare early 19th century German Empire giltwood trumeau mirror. The large rectangular plate surmounted by a scrolled pediment enriched with wines leaves and a central medallion encl...
Category
Early 19th Century German Antique Empire Furniture
Materials
Giltwood
Empire furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Empire furniture for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage furniture created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include lighting, decorative objects, tables and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, wood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Empire furniture made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original furniture, popular names associated with this style include Modenese Gastone, Europa Antiques, Baker Furniture Company, and Gherardo Degli Albizzi. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for furniture differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $56 and tops out at $955,603 while the average work can sell for $4,296.
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