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.
$3,919
Marble Top Console
Located in London, England
Large late 19th century French Empire style marble top cherry console table. Great size and colour. Old repair to marble top, hardly noticeable as shown in images. France circa 1850.
Marble
French 19th Century Empire Console with Marble Top
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A substantial French 19th century Empire mahogany console. The thick Carrara marble top is in wonderful antique condition, showing exciting gray veining that forms a nice contrast to...
Marble
French Empire 19th Century Mahogany Console Table
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A French 19th century mahogany console in the Empire style with dark stone top. The dense, marbleized stone of charcoal-hue is more recent in age but its faux leather finish has impa...
Marble
Neoclassical Empire Marble Top Ormolu Mounted Gray and Gilt Console Tables, Pair
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous pair of Neoclassical or Empire style console tables featuring winged sphinx and Egyptian ormolu figures USA, Circa Late 20th Century Painted wood in a lovely gray color,...
Marble, Ormolu
19th century Swedish empire elm marble top console table
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Mid 19th century Swedish elm marble top console table circa 1860. Fine quality console table of grand proportions. Shaped marble top standing on an elm base. Single concealed draw...
Marble
19th Century French Empire Neoclassical Marble Top Console Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Opulent 19th century French empire gilt wood console table featuring a marbleized limestone top with partial shell fossil remnants. The marble specimen is...
Marble
A Pair of custom Empire style crotch mahogany console tables.
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Elegant and finely crafted, this pair of custom console or pier tables showcases the bold symmetry and classical influence of the Empire style. Each table features richly figured cr...
Mahogany
Pair 19th Century Italian Empire Consoles
Located in Houston, TX
A stately pair of 19th Century Italian Empire white marble top mahogany consoles supported by ebonized caryatid columns.
Marble, Ormolu
$18,000 / set
19th Century Pair of Empire Console Tables
Located in Allerum, SE
Fine pair of 19th century Italian Empire mahogany veneered console tables with one drawer each. Inlaid with lion mascarons, wood carved decoration of eagle heads with paw feet, back ...
Mahogany
French Empire Demilune Console Table, Mahogany, Hand-Carved, 1840-1860
Located in Winter Park, FL
A French Empire demilune console table with a pair of large hand-carved mahogany swans. Good craftsmanship and beautiful stylized sculptural swans wit...
Mahogany
Rare French Empire partially Gilt Mahogany Corner Console or Encoignure
Located in Greenwich, CT
A Fine and Rare French Empire Mahogany Corner Console or 'Encoignure', late 19th cent. with a triangular top of ebonized molded edge, raised on a finely sculpted giltwood winged car...
Mahogany
19th Century French Empire Console Table
Located in Ongar, GB
A nice quality 19th century French Empire console table made from flamed Cuban mahogany. With a Belgian bluestone top and original ormolu ...
Mahogany
French Empire Console Table of Flame Mahogany with Marble Top
Located in Austin, TX
A fine French Empire console table of fine proportions, featuring a rectangular figured marble top, set upon a frieze of flame mahogany with one long hidden drawer over a base with t...
Marble
19th Century Russian Pair of Antique Beechwood, Brass Wall Mirrors and Consoles
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique Russian pair of wall mirrors and console tables, nightstands made of hand crafted Karelian Beechwood in good condition. The floor mirrors are supported by two arched legs ...
Metal, Brass
Vintage French Empire Style Painted Console Table Mid 20th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful vintage French Empire style painted gilded and ormolu mounted console table, Mid 20th century in date. The rectangular faux marble top with an ormolu plaque to t...
Ormolu
Fine French Empire Mahogany Gilt Figural Sphinx Pier Console Table c. 1815
Located in Shippensburg, PA
A VERY FINE FRENCH EMPIRE ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY CONSOLE TABLE With polychromed winged sphinx supports Paris, France circa 1815 38" H x 45 5/8" W x 19 1/4" D A perfectly balanced ...
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
$3,250 / item
Early 19th Century French Empire Walnut Console
Located in Atlanta, GA
Early 19th Century French Empire Walnut Console with Ebonized Marble Top & Bronze Dore Details, ca. 1810
Walnut
Italian Empire Console Table with Gilt Eagle Base and Marble Top
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Empire late 18th Century / early 19th Century console table with a variegated marble slab and gilt caved acanthus leaves wooden top supported on a gilt carved base depicting ...
Marble, Gold Leaf
Important 19th Century Italian Console Table
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Large, important early 19th Century North Italian console or side table of monumental proportions. This outstanding table is of large size and retains its original marble top of 42...
Marble
French Empire Style Console Marble Entry Table & Mirror
Located in Lake Worth, FL
For FULL item description click on "Read More" or "View More Details" below. Shipping Quote Information The shipping quote stated in the listing is from 1st Dibs and they normally s...
Marble, Bronze
Important and Very Rare Pair of Micromosaic, Malachite and Walnut Console Tables
By Antonio Deangelis
Located in London, GB
Important and very rare pair of micromosaic, malachite and walnut console tables Italian & Russian, early 19th century Measures: Height 89cm, width 106.5cm, depth 62cm These exceptionally beautiful antique console...
Malachite, Ormolu
Early 19th C. French First Empire Mahogany And Belgian Marble Console
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An exceptional antique French first empire marble-topped figured mahogany console table, circa 1800. The rectangular Belgian black-gray flecked marble top surmounts a conforming frie...
Belgian Black Marble, Metal
Kindel Furniture Empire Carved Mahogany and Gold Gilt Console Tables, Pair
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding pair of Empire, Neoclassical, or Regency style console tables, sofa tables, or entry tables By Kindel Furniture, "National Trust" Collection USA, Circa 1980s Carved...
Mirror, Mahogany, Giltwood, Lacquer
19th C. Empire Style Mahogany Console with Bronze Caryatid and Mirrored Back
Located in Kent, CT
A 19th Century blackened mahogany console in the Empire style. Bronze caryatid supports, paw feet, and lion keyhole. The key is lost in time but the drawer does open. Console has ...
Brass, Bronze
Kindel Furniture Empire Carved Mahogany Console Table With Mirrored Back
Located in South Bend, IN
An outstanding Empire, Neoclassical, or Regency style console table, sofa table, or entry table By Kindel Furniture, "National Trust" Collection USA, Circa 1980s Carved mahogany, ...
Mirror, Mahogany, Giltwood, Lacquer
Antique Empire Style Console Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Antique Empire style mahogany console table with a marble top, circa 1900. With a rectangular grey and white marble top with slightly rounded front corners, a frieze drawer with a we...
Marble, Brass
19th C. French Empire Crotch Mahogany Bronze Ormolu 1 Drawer Console Hall Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
19th C. French Empire Crotch Mahogany Bronze Ormolu One Drawer Console Hall Table. Item features beautiful wood grain with attractive mounts including human form feet, rear back spla...
Metal
Early 19th century French Empire Period Burl Elm Console Table with Marble Top
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This small scale early nineteenth century French Empire period console table is constructed of solid burl elm and features a black marble top. A single drawer of dovetail constructio...
Marble
19th Century Regency Ebony Inlaid Cross-Banded Crotch Mahogany Fold Top Table
Located in Germantown, MD
19th Century Regency Empire Ebony Inlaid Crotch Cross-Banded Mahogany Fold Top Table. Measures 36" in width, 17.75" in depth and 25.75" in height. Closed. Open, it is 35" in. Depth.
Mahogany, Ebony
Antique French Empire Fruitwood Console Table with drawer, Early 20th Century
Located in Miami, FL
Antique French Empire- Biedermeier fruitwood console table with drawer and bronze details In good original condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beaut...
Bronze
Mirrored and gilt wood console by Deknudt Belgium, 1970s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Hollywood regency style console by Belgian company Lusterie Deknudt with a gilt wood frame and a mirrored top. Elegant piedce of furniture for your hall or living room,... Dimensi...
Wood
French Empire Napoleon III Style Mahogany & Bronze Figural Pier Console Table
Located in Dayton, OH
An exquisite French Empire / Napoleon III style mirrored Pier Table, circa 1980s. Made from mahogany and bronze ormolu with a green marble top. The table showcases two figural swan...
Marble, Bronze
French Empire Gilt Sphinx Carved Console Table
Located in Queens, NY
French Empire gilt sphinx carved triangular console table with black painted top.
Giltwood
$11,321 / set
Pair of 19th Century Italian Console Tables
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A fine pair of early 19th Century Italian Empire walnut console tables, Lombardy. With very good Breche d'Alep moulded rectangular tops above a single drawer with brass moulding supp...
Marble, Brass
1820s Rare and Elegant Empire Walnut Sicilian Console
Located in Catania, Sicilia
An original conditions Walnut console hand-crafted in Sicily in 1820s. The elegance of saber feet it's typical of the Empire period as the gilded friezes...
Walnut
Antique French Empire Fruitwood Console Table with drawer, Early 20th Century
Located in Miami, FL
Antique French Empire- Biedermeier fruitwood console table with drawer and bronze details In good original condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beaut...
Bronze
Antique Empire Marble Top Mahogany Pier Table, 19th C.
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An antique Empire style marble top, mahogany veneered pier table, features a single drawer. The whole is raised on four cushion form feet with trestle style support. Fabulous scroll...
Marble
Antique English Empire Console Writing Side Table, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful small antique English Empire Gonçalo Alves console with integral writing slide and pen drawer, circa 1820 in date. This dual purpose table has a drawer above a p...
Wood
Fine and Exceptional Empire Pier Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A 19th century classical Empire pier console table having a beveled rectangular marble top above an Ogee mahogany veneered apron raised on carved and gilt white Alabaster Ionic colum...
Alabaster
19th Century French Retour d'Egpyte Antique Veneered Mahogany Console Table
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An early 19th Century, antique French Retour d'Egpyte freestanding console table made of hand crafted shellac polished, partly veneered Mahogany, in good condition. The rectangular table is composed with one small drawer, consisting a grey Belgian marble top, standing on four legs, resting on a thick wooden base. The front part of side table is particularized by star-shaped brass décor, the front legs are enhanced by black carved large caryatids. The décor piece represents the First French Empire...
Marble, Metal, Brass
Pair of French Empire Style Bronze Mounted Demilune Mahogany Console Tables
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 40 1/2in W: 50 1/2in D: 14 1/2in This is an EXCEPTIONAL Pair of French Empire Style Consoles! They are made of the highest quality! Made out of the Finest Mahogany ...
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Empire Style Painted Marble Top Console Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Antique Empire Style painted marble top console table, circa 1900. The paint is later. With a rectangular marble top, a frieze drawer, two columns with gilt highlights, resting on a ...
Marble
Early 19th Century French Empire Mahogany Console W/ Dark Gray Granite Top
Located in Astoria, NY
An early 19th century French Empire console table, sourced in Provence. The piece is constructed in solid mahogany with a rectangular dark grey granite top resting above a single apr...
Granite
Antique Empire Russia St. Petersburg Mahogany Games Console Table Brass Banding
Located in Munich, DE
This elegant Russian games and console table was made in st Petersburg circa 1810. It has ben crafted out of mahogany and is decorated with fine brass banding.The table is convertibl...
Brass
French Empire Style Two Tier Console Table by John Widdicomb with Brass Mounts
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
Dimensions - H: 34 in W: 44 in D: 20 1/2 in Elevate your interior with this exceptional 20th-century French Empire style two-tier console table or server by the renowned American ...
Brass
Antique Victorian Carved Oak Console Table
Located in London, GB
A large and very impressive antique Victorian carved oak console table. This was made in England, it dates from around the 1840-1860 period. It is of extremely fine quality, with a ...
Oak
Austrian Empire Console Table with back mirror and Swan Pedestals
Located in Miami, FL
Austrian console table from the Karl Johan Period in walnut and ebonized wood. Drawer in frieze. The table is decorated with Swans that are painted in a gold color to imitate oxidize...
Wood
Fabulous Demi-Lune Console, Jardiniere, Mirror available, 1810, Empire, Austria
Located in Wien, AT
Wonderful demi-lune console, usable as jardiniere, made around 1810 in Austria, an original of the Empire era. This wonderful wall console has a faceted mirror in the lower area. Th...
Sheet Metal
$34,950Sale Price / set|22% Off
Pair of French 19th Century Empire Style Giltwood & Gesso Carved Console Tables
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine and rare pair of French 19th century Empire style giltwood carved and ebonized gesso figural console tables with figures of winged lions and f...
Marble
19th Century burr birch empire revival console table
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
19th Century burr birch empire revival console table circa 1880. Good quality Swedish burr birch side table, ideal for use in the hallway, but suitable for most rooms around the hom...
Birch
Continental Empire Black Lacquer Chinoiserie Console Table
Located in Queens, NY
Continental Dutch Empire-style (Circa 1840) black lacquer Chinoiserie console table with adjustable mirror on back and bronze heads with black marble top.
Marble, Bronze, Gold Leaf
Early 19th Century Empire Console Table in Cherry Wood and Marble Top
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
We present this elegant small Italian console table from the Empire period, dating back to the early 19th century. This console table possesses a unique historical charm, perfect for...
Marble, Bronze
19th Century Swedish Empire Console in Carved, Polychrome and Gilded Wood
Located in Madrid, ES
Swedish Empire console table in carved, polychrome and gilt wood, early 19th century. Rectangular marble top in a low white, frieze decorated wi...
Marble
Vintage Maitland Smith Silver Koi Console Table
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exquisite console table by Maitland-Smith is a masterclass in Hollywood Regency glamour, featuring the brand's iconic blend of Neoclassical influence and whimsical artistry. The...
Marble, Brass, Silver Leaf
Early 19th Century Empire Mahogany Console Table with Marble Top
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
This finely crafted console table impresses with its strict architectural form and a striking, rare marble top. The frieze houses a large drawer (without lock), subtly integrated int...
Marble, Bronze
Unusual Early 19th Century Swedish Carved Giltwood Console Table
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very decorative and unusual Swedish giltwood and ebonized console table with a white marble top supported by two sculptural griffins (part eagle, part sea creature).
Marble
French 19th Century Empire Style Flamed Mahogany, Ormolu and Marble Console
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A most impressive French mid 19th century Empire st. flamed mahogany, ormolu and marble console, with one drawer. The console is raised by a striking bottom tier which showcases the ...
Marble, Ormolu
Pair of Italian Mid-19th Century Empire Style Mahogany Consoles from Naples
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A sensational pair of Italian mid 19th century Empire st. freestanding flamed mahogany consoles from Naples, Italy. The consoles are raised by double mottled rectangular bases with b...
Marble, Brass
Vintage French Empire Style Distressed Gold Giltwood Hall Table Console
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage French Empire Style Distressed Gold Giltwood Hall Table Console. Item features antiqued glass top, shell carved knees, paw feet, distressed finish. Circa Mid 20th Century. Me...
Glass, Wood
19th Century Italian Console Table
Located in Allerum, SE
19th century Italian gilded and painted console table from the Empire period in it's original condition. Ca 1810, Italy.
Wood