Napoleon III Wall Decorations
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.
1850s Dutch Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Oak
1880s German Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Porcelain
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas, Wood
Early 1900s French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Glass, Wood, Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Parchment Paper
Late 19th Century European Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Parchment Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Parchment Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Parchment Paper
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paint
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Tapestry
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood, Paint
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood, Canvas
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Giltwood, Paint
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Gold Leaf
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
1860s Italian Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paint
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Mid-19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Porcelain, Stucco, Wood
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Silk, Wood
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
17th Century Dutch Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
17th Century Dutch Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
Early 20th Century Belgian Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Ormolu
Late 19th Century German Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Gold Leaf
19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Marble
1850s French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wood
1890s French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas, Giltwood
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Late 19th Century Dutch Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Beech, Cherry
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
Late 19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Canvas
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper
19th Century Portuguese Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Wool
19th Century French Antique Napoleon III Wall Decorations
Paper