Empire Console

Style: Napoleon III (1848-1870)

With Napoleon III as emperor, France experienced a period of extraordinary economic prosperity, a factor that allowed it to reconstitute a formidable war machine.

In short, the dream that had once been Bonaparte's was revived: France as a great European hegemonic power.

The euphoria and grandeur also found perfect correspondence in the furnishings that characterized the Second Empire.

In Italy, the Napoleon III Style initially had insignificant effects, imposing furnishings in imitation of Louis XVI with an ornamental value resolved only in carving and completely devoid of bronze frills, in deference to a more sober taste that would always characterize Italian clients.

Only in the first decades of the twentieth century did "French" furniture find important commercial outlets in our country.

This is the name given to the artistic production of France under Napoleon III, president in 1848 and emperor from 1852 to 1870, the year of his abdication.

Rather than a style, we can speak of a set of styles, or rather revivals, given that in these years the eclectic tendency that had already appeared during the previous reign of Louis Philippe developed to its extreme consequences.

The drive to re-evaluate history and the Middle Ages also derives from the romantic spirit, as well as from the nationalistic one.

The houses were therefore furnished by mixing different styles and drawing from both the past and the East, with a tendency towards luxury and pomp that reflected the emperor's desire for grandeur.

In general, there was a return to the entire 18th century, with particular attention to Louis XVI; the fashion for dark woods (ebony and rosewood), exotic woods and bronze applications is confirmed.

From the 17th century onwards, the inlay created by André-Charles Boulle, the great cabinetmaker of Louis XIV, was revived. He created an inlay technique in gilded bronze and tortoiseshell, in which one of the two materials acts as a background for the perforated designs of the other.

Compared to the refinement of the original pieces, the "Boulle" furniture of this period is heavier and also flashier, given the addition of bright colours through painted sheets or parts in horn coloured blue, red or green.

Always in the wake of eclecticism, Venetian furniture arouses particular interest, which stimulates the production of polychrome and gilded furniture, in which figures of Moors often appear as supports.

These latter are also linked to the passion for the exotic that leads to the fashion for chinoiserie (in especially after the conquest of Beijing in 1860).

Discover more about the Napoleon III style with our insights:

a Napoleon III Secretaire to discover the cabinet with hiding places

A Napoleon III table to discover the caryatid

FineArt: Chandelier – O. Lelièvre & Susse Frères, Paris, last quarter of the 19th century

FineArt: Napoleon III Sideboard

The Austrian taste of Baroque

The Louis XV cabinet

The history of the writing desk

Napoleone III: the charm of the exotic in furniture

Main essence: Walnut

Walnut wood comes from the plant whose botanical name is juglans regia , probably originally from the East but very common in Europe. Light or dark brown in color, it is a hard wood with a beautiful grain, widely used in antique furniture. It was the main essence in Italy throughout the Renaissance and later had a good diffusion in Europe, especially in England, until the advent of mahogany. It was used for solid wood furniture and sometimes carvings and inlays, its only big limitation is that it suffers a lot from woodworm. In France it was widely used more than anything else in the provinces. In the second half of the eighteenth century its use decreased significantly because mahogany and other exotic woods were preferred.

Material: Solid Walnut