EMPIRE 1800-1820

This was the last style to be created entirely by the French, at the command of Napoleon I who was Emperor from 1802-1815. It was a classical style copied accurately from the imperial designs of Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. This was in contrast to the Baroque classical styles which had been freely adapted from those of Ancient Rome, and elaborated until they bore little resemblance to the original.
Empire designs were rectilinear (in straight lines) and the huge rectangular pieces of furniture had architectural proportions. The large flat surfaces were covered with great sheets of veneer, usually of mahogany, rosewood, or ebony. They were decorated with flat pieces of ormolu (gilded bronze or brass ornamentation), with very little carving. Designs included Egyptian and Greek figures, palmettes, crowns, eagles, bees (Napoleon's emblem), swans, lions, Sphinxes and other mythical animals.

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