The style of 18th-century French furniture was guided by the court. When Louis XV, who reigned from 1715–74, focused royal life on the smaller salons of Versailles rather than its grand chambers, it transformed the aesthetics away from the imposing and angular furniture that characterized the style of Louis XIV. A broader focus on comfort and more delicate forms define antique Louis XV furniture, with nature-inspired carvings, wood inlays, curved cabriole legs, asymmetrical shapes and rounded oval seat backs. The furnishings changed throughout the king’s life, as he ascended to the throne as a child and then grew to establish his own tastes.
Pieces like the bergère, an upholstered armchair with a wide cushion that fit the flowing dresses in fashion at the time, reflected this more informal court. Introduced at the start of Louis XV’s reign, bergère chairs in this style were deeper and broader than other chairs of the period.
Louis XV tapestries and carpets tended to be floral and colorful, and design elements were borrowed from Asia. Dutch-born cabinetmaker Bernard van Risenburgh brought lacquer techniques influenced by Japan and China into his luxuriously made furniture. Along with its fine details, the furniture of the era also featured new innovations including mechanical devices. Jean François Oeben, a royal cabinetmaker, created such intricate pieces as a mechanical table for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress. It involved a sliding top and a writing surface that extended from its marquetry panels.
During the later years of Louis XV’s reign, there was a shift from the ostentatious rocaille style, part of the exuberantly decorative Rococo movement in Europe for which designers such as Nicolas Pineau and Juste-Aurèle Meissonier are known. The style under Louis XVI would return to boxier forms, but with a neoclassical touch inspired by the ancient world.
Find antique Louis XV bedroom furniture, seating, tables and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
French Walnut Cabaret Table with Frieze Drawer, Late 18th Century
Located in Atlanta, GA
An authentic late 18th-century French cabaret table crafted in solid walnut. This refined and utilitarian form is characterized by its single frieze drawer, seamlessly integrated int...
Wood
A Louis XV Style Lacquered Tray-Top Table By Henry Dasson
By Henry Dasson
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Bois Satiné and Lacquered Tray-Top Table, by Henry Dasson. This elegant table is inset to the top with a lacquered tray decorated with a s...
Ormolu
Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze-Mounted Tea Table
Located in Long Island City, NY
A Fantastic Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mounted Louis XV Style Two Tier Parquetry Tea Table With inlaid diamond parquetry top...
Bronze
19th Century Louis XV small table saber legs, in walnut, walnut veneered top
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Italian 19th century walnut saber legs small table or bedside or coffee table Louis XV in walnut, walnut veneered top with inlay, with drower. Restored and wax polished
Walnut
19th Century Table Ambulante with Blue 'Sèvres' Porcelain Top
By Roger Vandercruse dit Lacroix
Located in London, GB
A table Ambulante With 'Sèvres' Porcelain top Inspired by the original in the Wallace Collection Originally designed by Roger Vandercruse Co...
Ormolu
Antique French Louis XVI Neoclassical Inlaid Glass Tray Top Table
Located in Forney, TX
A sophisticated French antique Louis XVI style Neoclassical taste convertible mahogany serving table. Born in Paris, France in the early 20th century, hand-crafted of warm, rich, solid mahogany wood, the elegant Parisan dessert server / cocktail drinks bar cart / tea table having a large removable tray top with brass handles and glass bottom, resting on a two tiered table, the upper and lower tier tabletop featuring striking mahogany with stunning grain detail, warm hue, rich coloring, and beautifully aged patina that adds a rich dark warmth, distinctive depth and mellow luminous sheen that can only be acquired over long periods of time. The upper level is framed by intricate exotic boxwood and ebony banding and stringing raised rim, the lower level having four drop down shelves that can act as extensions, each shelf having serpentine shaped stepped molded edge and patinated brass hardware, all rising on four squared tapered legs garnished with four rows of satinwood sting inlay. The fine antique serving table...
Brass
$2,500
H 32 in W 16.25 in D 14 in
19th Century Louis XV Style Marquetry Side Table in Walnut & Mahogany
Located in Winter Park, FL
A 19th century French Louis XV style two-drawer side table, or nightstand with inlaid marquetry veneers of walnut and mahogany. Cast bronze hardware. Nice proportions with curved cor...
Bronze
$525
H 1.5 in W 23.5 in D 14.4 in
Early 20th Century French Art Populaire Carved Walnut Tray Table with Glass Top
Located in Dallas, TX
Behold, the timeless elegance of this exquisite "art populaire" tray, perfect for transporting dishes to your table with grace and style. Hand carved in France circa 1920, this wonde...
Glass, Walnut, Fabric
$750
H 24.75 in W 30.25 in D 22.5 in
20th Century Italian Chinoiserie Style Lacquered and Gilt Tole Tray Table
Located in Doylestown, PA
Italian Chinoiserie style black lacquered tole tray table with folding ebonized wood base. It features a delightful, intricately hand-painted design with butterflies and flowers in g...
Metal
English Chinoiserie Style Faux Bamboo Lacquered Tray Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming English chinoiserie style faux bamboo cocktail table featuring a paper-maché lacquered tray top decorated with intricate Asian motifs. The tray has parcel gilt pagodas and landscapes over a dramatic red ground. The lacquer has a desirable aged craquelure fine webbing on the finish. The later constructed faux bamboo green...
Wood
$3,112Sale Price|20% Off
H 31.5 in W 80.71 in D 34.26 in
19th Century French Louis XV Period Carved Walnut Daybed
Located in Miami, FL
Magnificent 18th century French Louis XV period daybed. The bed needs a reupholstered , we can do it with the color velvet you choose.
Velvet, Walnut
$1,152Sale Price|52% Off
H 30.91 in W 17.72 in D 13.78 in
19th Century Louis XVI Oval Veneered Side Table, France
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
An unusual French oval-shaped veneered bedside cabinet, with a pot cupboard and a single drawer. The top and cupboard lining are marble, while inlaid marquetry veneered panels adorn ...
Marble
19th Century Table with Marble Top
Located in Houston, TX
19th century beech gueridon with 3 legs on wheels. Legs are detailed with black lacquer at the top and at the base of each column.
Belgian Black Marble
19th Century English Mahogany Inlaid Serving Tray on Stand
Located in High Point, NC
19th century mahogany shaped serving tray with serpentine and inlaid molded gallery and bulbous brass handles. The tray has a central satinwood feathered design, and intricately inla...
Brass
$2,500 / set
H 12 in W 26.75 in D 15.75 in
Near Pair 19th Century Louis XV Style Side Tables Nightstands.
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Near Pair 19th Century Louis XV Style Side Tables Nightstands. Near pair of 19th Century Louis XV style one drawer side table nightstands with open shelf. The two 'tables de chev...
Brass
$1,780Sale Price|24% Off
H 23.5 in W 16.5 in D 22.75 in
Mahogany Butlers Tray Table, late 19th C., England
Located in Chappaqua, NY
Late 19th century butlers tray on stand. Scalloped detail incorporating open handles for serving. Beautiful mahogany with great patina.
Mahogany
19th Century French Louis XV Walnut Marble Top Nightstand
Located in Dallas, TX
19th Century French Louis XV walnut marble top nightstand is a classic example of the genre, rendered in sumptuous French walnut and topped with beautifully veined marble for a timel...
Marble
French Louis XV Serving Tray Table
Located in Lake Worth, FL
For FULL item description click on CONTINUE READING at the bottom of this page. Offering One Of Our Recent Palm Beach Estate Fine Furniture Acquisitions Of A Mid-Century Louis XV St...
Brass, Bronze
Large Silver Plated Tray Louis XV Style
Located in Beaune, FR
Large solid silver plated tray decorated with vines and grapes. Weight - 5kg.
Silver Plate
Mid-18th Century French Black Lacquered Louis XV Tray Top Table
Located in Atlanta, GA
Mid-18th Century French Black Lacquered Louis XV Tray Top Table with Floral Decoration & Bronze Mounted Hoof Feet
Bronze
Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Tea Table
Located in Astoria, NY
Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted two-tier tea table with pink marble top. 31.25” H x 29” W x 20.5” D.
Marble, Bronze
Sold
H 28 in W 33.5 in D 22.75 in
French Louis XV Period Walnut 2-Drawer Gallery Top Table, Mid-18th Century
Located in Atlanta, GA
The rectangular top with a thick galleried edge above a conforming case housing two-side drawer each having a wooden pull, the table raised on tapering cabriole legs ending in small ...
Walnut
Ormolu-Mounted Tray Table in the Louis XV Style by François Linke
Located in London, GB
A very fine French Louis xv style ormolu-mounted mahogany, kingwood and satiné Cube Parquetry Two-Tier Table à Thé by François Linke. Index no. 610 The serpentine dual-handled upper-tier with removable glazed tray...
Bronze, Ormolu
French 18th Century Louis XV Gilt Gesso Centre Table
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Rare and fine French Louis XV 18th century gilt gesse centre table with beautiful marble tray top. The table has a stylised shell decorated frieze, stands on cabriole legs with furth...
Marble
Louis XV Style Rafraichissoir
Located in New York, NY
A Louis XV style rafraichissoir, the top fitted with a rouge marble tablet and two oval metal receptacles, above a scalloped apron with a drawer, the four slight cabriole legs terminating in sabots and joined by an under-tier, circa 1890. The decoration refreshed. Provenance: A Parish Hadley decorated interior of Jane Engelhard...
Wood
Roger Vandercruse-Style Table Ambulante
Located in New Orleans, LA
Luxurious hardwoods and hand-painted porcelain distinguish this incredible table ambulante, attributed to the Durand Dynasty of French cabinetmakers. Crafted in the manner of Roger Vandercruse, the two-tiered table is gracefully formed, with flowing lines accented by fine cast bronze ormolu mounts. Exquisite sycamore veneers adorn the surfaces, inlaid with satinwood, purple-heart and fruitwood in a classic trellis pattern. The inset Sèvres porcelain tray...
Porcelain, Fruitwood, Purpleheart, Satinwood, Sycamore
Sold
H 26 in W 25.75 in D 19.38 in
French Late 19th Century Louis XV Style Side Table with Black and Gold Tray Top
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French Louis XV style carved wood side table from the second half of the 19th century, with black and gold painted tray top. This French side table features a black painted tray to...
Wood
18th Century Swedish Tray Table
Located in Atlanta, GA
18th Century Swedish Tray Table. Please Note This Item is an Antique and is One of a Kind. Please Refer to Our Website for Our Complete Inventory.