Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
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.
Mid-18th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Brass
19th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Fruitwood
Early 19th Century English Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Other
19th Century English Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Pine
Late 19th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Oak
1830s American Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Walnut
19th Century Swedish Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Wood
1730s English Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Mahogany
1910s Vintage Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Mahogany
18th Century North American Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Walnut
18th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Walnut
Early 19th Century British Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Mahogany, Satinwood
Early 20th Century American Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Brass
1830s French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Brass
19th Century European Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Pine
Early 1800s French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Brass
Early 19th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Directoire Drop-leaf and Pembroke Tables
Burl