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.
A Directoire Marble Pastry Table - All Original
Located in Washington, DC
A Directoire Marble Pastry Table with bronze and cast iron base. Original Top.
Marble, Bronze, Iron
English Oak Directoire Style Tall Work Table w/ Chippendale Pull & Tapered Legs
Located in Germantown, MD
An English Oak Directoire Style Tall Work Table with Chippendale Pull and Tapered Legs. Dimensions: 22.5" in width, 15" in depth and 35.75 inches in height.
Oak
$6,200
H 33.75 in W 68.75 in D 34.88 in
French Oak Two-Tier Work Table, 19th Century, Industrial Style, France
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A French, 19th century work table in two tiers, formerly used in a winery. The tall and large surface area is ideal for any creative pursuit, from the artist's studio to home baker–p...
Oak, Paint
Industrial oak work table, circa 1950
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
This robust industrial work table, crafted from solid oak and dating from circa 1950, combines functionality with an authentic appearance. The tabletop displays a beautiful weathered...
Oak
$5,500
H 29.75 in W 50.25 in D 30.75 in
French Marble Top Polished Iron and Bronze "Table de Boucher" or Pastry Table
Located in Dallas, TX
This large pastry table (or butcher table), would add the ideal amount of surface space to any kitchen. Crafted in France, the table stands on four scrolled legs over an intricate st...
Marble, Iron, Bronze
Industrial Work Table
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
Beautiful vintage work table with a unique, brushed, aged, steel patina and a beautifully worked, wood plank top. This cabinet features a flip-down and slide-away front that opens to...
Steel
$4,990
H 30 in W 96 in D 33.75 in
One of a Kind Reclaimed Work or Dining Table with Turned Legs & Working Drawers
Located in Old Town Orange, CA
Reclaimed wood Work Table or Dining Table Does knock down from top, if needing to move into a narrow space. Great for a work table, store display, or dining table. This will seat 6 t...
Wood
Antique French Stone Top Iron Baker’s Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Large and authentic industrial era French work table. A fine antique stone top baker’s table surmounted an iron base with tubular and steel banded construction. Dimensions: 42" x 76...
Stone, Iron
$5,950
H 33 in W 43.5 in D 33.25 in
Country English Pastry Shop Potential Kitchen Island, Marble Top All Original
Located in Highwood, IL
Located just outside the Cotswold’s in England, we were fortunate enough to discover this incredible all original marble topped pastry kitchen island, with an old cream painted wooden frame, with a slatted undertier. Finding old, completely unmolested, all original tables that can be substituted for a modern generic new kitchen island, is something that we, at Old Plank have specialized in for over 30-years. The trick has always been to locate an antique potential kitchen island, that was used commercially, yet finished on all four-sides and if you’re real lucky, it’ll have a marble top. This antique English kitchen island...
Marble
19thC Ebonised English Pine Work Table / Kitchen Island
Located in Staffordshire, GB
circa 1890 19thC Ebonised English Pine Work Table / Kitchen Island sku 2237 W176.5 x D91 x H91 cm Weight 58Kg
Pine
Carpenter’s Work Table
Located in High Point, NC
A substantial carpenter’s work table reflecting traditional workshop craftsmanship, featuring a long solid wood top built for durability and daily use. The straightforward constructi...
Wood
Antique Oak Rectangular Work Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A very old and solid work table which shows its age to great advantage. With a long banded overhanging top, two apron drawers (one with an escutcheon, lacking the key), and carved fr...
Oak
Rustic Antique American Farmhouse Weathered Work Table
Located in Forney, TX
A one-of-a-kind rustic antique American country work table in original plum - wine paint finish with heavily worn distressed patina! Full of antique character and unique folky charm, featuring primitve hand-crafted farmhouse craftsmanship and solid wooden construction, having a plank boarded top, simple wide apron with pegged detail, rising on distinctive spool-turned Jenny Lind legs terminating in tapering ring-turned feet. This rustic folk art table most likely originating in the Southern United States, handmade during the early/mid-19th century by a farmer, not a formally trained carpenter or furniture maker, adding to the overall antique character, elegant warmth, and rich historical depth. Dimensions: (approx) 33" High, 64" Wide, 31" Deep Provenance / Acquisition: Acquired from reputable auction house Bright Star Antiques Co., Sulfur Springs, Texas. May 2022 Session 1.5 catalog. Founded on generations of experience in rare antiques and furnishings, Bright Star has been specializing in rare American country antiques and architectural elements for over 25 years. Condition: Beautiful age, weathered patina and attractive faded mellow coloring. Heavily worn, naturally distressed, chippy paint, losses, warping, slight wobble, substantial wear and tear consistent with age and use. Not overly strong or sturdy, but certainly functional and delivered ready for immediate use. Jenny Lind’s Legs? Johanna Maria Lind (Sweden; 1820–1887) spent many nights in the U.S. during her wildly popular concert tour, presenting an opportunity for furniture makers to claim that P.T. Barnum’s Swedish Nightingale rested in one of their beds. Celebrity endorsements—sanctioned or not—had been found to boost sales, and 19th-century entrepreneurs had little aversion to stretching the truth. By the time she returned to Europe, Jenny Lind’s name or likeness had been affixed to riding hats, cigars, dolls, perfume, and more. Still, the association between spool-turned beds and the name “Jenny Lind” appears to be a 20th-century phenomenon, likely an attempt to conjure a connection to simpler times after the fact. Several bits of folklore connect the opera star with specific beds. The most widespread asserts that Philadelphia furniture manufacturer George J. Henkels placed a special bed—actually, a carved Rococo piece with a side canopy—in Lind’s hotel, and later gave it to her as a gift or, in a divergent ending, vowed to name it after her. A second story centers on a common, early 19th-century mahogany spool bed...
Wood, Paint
Monumental English Ebonised Pine Work Table / Island
Located in Staffordshire, GB
circa 1900 Monumental English Ebonised Pine Work Table / Island sku 2187 W276 x D79 x H92 cm Internal shelf depth 71.5 cm Weight 211Kg
Pine
French Marble Top & Wrought Iron Kitchen Island
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A French 19th century wrought iron culinary work-table base paired with a (more recent) white marble top of complementary patina. The thick slab reveals a fine lace of gray veining t...
Marble, Brass, Iron
Sold
H 32.75 in W 79 in D 28.5 in
18th Century French Directoire Period Walnut Work Table or Console Table
Located in Birmingham, AL
An exceptional 18th century French Directoire period work table, handcrafted from solid walnut in Lyon, the historic capital of France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, circa 1790s. Sit...
Walnut
Sold
H 36 in W 130 in D 35 in
18th Century French Directoire Period Walnut Draper's Table with Marquetry Band
Located in Birmingham, AL
A grand 18th century French Directoire period table de drapier from a draper's atelier in Narbonne, a wealthy port city in Southern France in the Occitanie region, circa 1780s. Handc...
Fruitwood, Walnut
Sold
H 34.75 in W 73.5 in D 36 in
18th Century French Directoire Period Walnut Table de Drapier or Draper Table
Located in Birmingham, AL
A fine late 18th century French Directoire period table de drapier from a draper's atelier in Lyon, circa 1790s. Handcrafted of solid walnut, this bea...
Walnut
French Early 19th Century Mahogany Adjustable Drafting Desk
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This specialized mahogany desk was made in France, circa 1810. Made in the Directoire style, this remarkable desk features a top that can be adjusted for sitting or standing. Used by...
Brass
Sold
H 32.29 in W 33.08 in D 20.48 in
Late 18th Century Mahogany Architect's Table, in the Manner of Canabas
Located in Berlin, DE
Late 18th century mahogany architect's table or 'Table a` la Tronchin' in the manner of Joseph Gengenbach, known as Canabas (maître in 1766). An elegant mechanical and transformation mahogany veneered table with a crank handle to lift the top. The top writing surface still with its original gilt-tooled green leather lined writing surface. A horizontal molding, on which reading, writing and drawing materials may be propped, is attached on the writing surface. A simple frieze drawer, an additional ink drawer and two candle slides complete the practical facilities. Closed, the architect's table gives little hint of its actual purpose - appearing as an elegant console table. Its elegantly modest design a reminder of English mahogany furniture...
Sold
H 29.14 in W 27.17 in D 16.34 in
Fine French Mahogany and Brass Directoire Style Occasional or Dressing Table
Located in Benington, Herts
A very fine French mahogany and brass Directoire style occasional table (table a ouvrage – meaning work table), circa 1860 This fine quality table would have most probably been used...
Brass
Sold
H 30.32 in W 35.04 in D 20.87 in
Late 18th Century Mahogany Veneered Architect's Table, workshop of J.J. Chapuis
Located in Berlin, DE
A late 18th century Directoire mahogany architect's table, attributed to the workshop of Jean-Joseph Chapuis. A mechanical table with a double-hinged ratcheted top and a gilt-tooled green leather lined writing surface, veneered in beautifully flame-grained polished mahogany. A horizontal molding, on which reading, writing, and drawing materials may be propped, is attached on the writing surface and can be removed if desired. Below a long frieze drawer displaying the beauty of the mahogany veneer with a central small brass button above the central gilt bronze key-hole mount that enables the mechanism for adjusting the height and angle of the writing surface. The interior of the frieze drawer is fitted with a leather-covered writing slide above two compartments. Candle slides underneath the tabletop can be pulled outward to hold adjustable candlesticks. The square, tapering legs with a top molding, brass block feet and castors. Closed, the architect's table gives little hint of its actual purpose - appearing as an elegant console table. This architect's table is also known as a 'table à la Tronchin' after Théodore Tronchin (Genf 1709- Paris 1781), an unconventional but influential 18th-century Swiss physician who advised a sluggish aristocrat “to write at a raised desk...
Bronze
Sold
H 30.25 in W 63.5 in D 26.75 in
Exquisite Antique French Directoire Style Butcher's Table w/Marble
Located in Highwood, IL
Awesome antique French butcher's presentation table with old paint and classic Directoire styling. Use this killer table in the kitchen helping prepare family meals, in the foyer as ...