Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
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.
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood, Paper
1890s Japanese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
19th Century Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Enamel
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Lacquer
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Belgian Black Marble, Gold Plate, Bronze
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Brass
1880s Italian Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Marble, Bronze
1870s Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood, Paint
19th Century Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
19th Century Japanese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Lacquer
Early 20th Century Chinese Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century Indonesian Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
19th Century Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Lacquer
Late 20th Century Chinese Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century Burmese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Bamboo, Lacquer
Late 20th Century Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood
19th Century Japanese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Paper
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Porcelain
1870s Chinese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Wood, Paint
Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Metal, Bronze, Ormolu
1950s French Vintage Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Velvet, Wood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Ceramic, Porcelain
1870s Italian Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Glass, Paint
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Brass
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Crystal
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Metal
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Pearwood
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Asian Art and Furniture
Velvet