Napoleon III Furniture
Under Napoleon III’s rule, Paris underwent a great rebuilding overseen by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, which created grand avenues and lavish landmarks like the Paris Opera. Antique Napoleon III–style furniture was flamboyant and eclectic. It was also known as Second Empire style since it followed and referenced the Empire style of his uncle Napoleon I.
Developing from 1852–70, Napoleon III furniture was plush and ornate, matching the fashion for masked balls and socializing in salons. It borrowed freely from earlier French styles including Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI as well as aesthetics from around the world, from antiquity to Asian art. As writer Gustave Claudin remarked in 1867, the country’s architects worked in “a style which one would be tempted to call neo-Greco-Gothico-Pompadour-Pompeian.”
Napoleon III chairs were completely covered with velvet and lined with tassels; pouf footstools invited people to put up their feet. Sofas were upholstered with tapestries, and beds were adorned with gilt bronze and theatrical canopies. The addition of conservatories to homes led to new indoor-outdoor furniture, while the spirit of hygiene promoted by Baron Haussmann inspired bright, floral motifs.
Although the most ostentatious designs were for the elite, as seen in the Napoleon III apartments preserved in the Louvre, where red velvet, gilding and chandeliers create a cacophony of luxury, these trends influenced homes across classes as manufacturing made design increasingly accessible. Papier-mâché furniture allowed for elaborate shapes that would have been difficult to carve in wood. The malleable material was painted with chinoiserie patterns and decorative designs. It was mass-produced by factories such as Jennens and Bettridge with varnishing and mother-of-pearl inlays creating an effect reminiscent of Asian lacquer. (Surfaces that had been “japanned” — a specialty of Jennens and Bettridge — were intended to resemble lacquer work that was created in East Asia.)
Find a collection of antique Napoleon III decorative objects, tables, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Late 19th Century German Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Silver
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wool
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Enamel, Ormolu
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Kingwood
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Spelter
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Paper
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Beech, Birdseye Maple
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Carrara Marble
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Steel, Iron
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
1980s French Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Gold Leaf
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal, Bronze, Ormolu
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Oak
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Canvas, Giltwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Upholstery
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Iron
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Opaline Glass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal
Early 1900s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Fabric, Bamboo, Wicker, Rattan
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal, Brass, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Napoleon III Furniture
Glass
Mid-19th Century American Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Glass, Blown Glass, Wood
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Rosewood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Other
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Mid-19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1920s French Vintage Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass, Iron, Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Oak
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Metal
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Giltwood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Ormolu
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Majolica
20th Century French Napoleon III Furniture
Iron
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Porcelain, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wool
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Softwood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal, Bronze
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century American Napoleon III Furniture
Marble, Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Crystal, Silver
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Linen, Oak
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Brass
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Carrara Marble, Brass
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Furniture
Art Glass