Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail 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.
1860s French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
Late 20th Century Philippine Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
20th Century French Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Onyx, Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble
1980s Vintage Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
1940s European Vintage Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Bronze
20th Century American Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan, Mahogany
20th Century American Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
20th Century Italian Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine, Marble
1960s European Vintage Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Pine
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Onyx, Bronze, Iron
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Tortoise Shell
Mid-20th Century North American Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
19th Century Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rosewood
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble
1880s French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1870s European Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze
1870s French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood, Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
Early 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Bronze