Napoleon III Tables
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 English Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
20th Century French Napoleon III Tables
Iron
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Metal, Bronze, Copper, Enamel
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Mid-19th Century German Antique Napoleon III Tables
Gold Plate
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Tables
Ormolu
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Amboyna
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Fruitwood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Stone, Ormolu
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Faux Leather, Walnut
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Leather, Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
Early 20th Century Italian Napoleon III Tables
Brass
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Walnut
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Carrara Marble
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Porcelain, Wood
Early 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Fruitwood
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Tables
Ebony
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Tôle
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Granite, Bronze, Ormolu
1850s European Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Silver Plate
1820s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Leather, Mahogany
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Walnut
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Abalone, Mother-of-Pearl, Wood, Paint
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Stone, Brass, Iron
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Walnut, Lacquer
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Fruitwood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood, Paint
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Mid-19th Century German Antique Napoleon III Tables
Gold Plate
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Tôle
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Wrought Iron
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Onyx, Ormolu
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Brass
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Marble, Brass, Ormolu, Pewter
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Tables
Bronze
Late 19th Century Antique Napoleon III Tables
Felt, Wood