Empire Furniture- Chest of Drawers- France 1810
This elegant chest of drawers is an original Empire furniture piece. It dates back to around 1810 and comes from France. The chest has a beautiful cherry veneer and the original brass fittings of the 19th century. Furthermore a dark original marble top embellishes the top. The four drawer chest offers a lot of storage space.
The Empire Style
Empire furniture arose during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte over the First French Empire, which lasted from 1804 to 1814.
The Empire style is an evolution of Neoclassic design. These two styles share similar features, as can be seen in themes borrowed from Roman antiquity.
Empire furniture has a definitive layout and showcased simplistic geometric shapes with level surfaces and distinct angles. Decorations were symmetrical, and motifs mirrored one other on each side.
Because of the Napoleonic wars and trade barriers against Britain, mahogany and other precious woods were rare.
Although limited, French colonies supplied a small amount of exotic woods. As a result, cabinetmakers used mahogany and similar materials sparingly.
The only things made from exotic woods were smaller items, veneers, or minute ebony features.
Instead, cabinetmakers used woods and other materials sourced locally, like walnut, maple, and cherry for example.
Cabinetmakers still used bronze or brass fittings, which were always symmetrically placed on flat surfaces.
Additionally, marble was used atop tables and desks and was usually gray or black.
Empire furniture is still a sought after style today. Due to its geometric forms it can easily be combined in contemporary designed rooms or works also very well in classic traditional settings. Also read our blog post about the history of the Empire Style
Details
The Empire chest of drawers measures: Height: 36.23 in. (92 cm), Width: 51.97 in. (132 cm), Depth: 24.41 in. (62 cm). The chest ships from Germany and includes shipping costs to Boston.
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