From 1804–15, Napoléon I reigned as the emperor of France, bringing the country into a new era of opulence after the fall of the monarchy and the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. He declared, “We must have very solid things, made to last 100 years.” Empire-style furniture followed suit, with imposing pieces constructed from mahogany and adorned with gilded ornaments. Expanding on the neoclassicism popularized in the previous century — such as in Louis XVI style — Empire style borrowed from the great civilizations of antiquity, from Egypt to Greece and Rome, to connect this nascent empire to the power of the past.
Napoléon I believed the production of fine furniture would reflect the stature of the republic, with his official architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine leading the way with their work on his residences.
Luxurious materials, symmetrical shapes and bold colors characterize antique Empire-style bedroom furniture, armchairs, cabinets and other structures, with frequent motifs including mythological creatures, geometric designs, acanthus leaves, eagles, bees (the imperial emblem) and swans, a favorite of Empress Joséphine.
Flat surfaces, like marble tabletops, were accented with decadent details, such as the bronze furniture mounts made by sculptor Pierre-Philippe Thomire for the French palaces. Martin-Guillaume Biennais, who worked as the imperial goldsmith, crafted intricate luxury objects that mixed wood, fine metal, mother-of-pearl and ivory. Ormolu — or elaborate bronze gilding — was essential to French design in the 18th and 19th centuries as a cornerstone of the neoclassical and Empire styles.
The style became popular abroad, influencing the American Empire style. Stately pieces carved with sprigs of olives by cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellange were acquired by American President James Monroe for the White House in 1817.
Find a collection of antique Empire tables, lighting, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Pair of Empire Console Tables with Bronze Details, circa 1820
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
This pair of Empire console tables features unusual, turned mahogany legs in the front that are decorated with beautiful, fire-gilded bro...
Bronze
French Napoleon Empire Style Marble Bronzed Wall Console Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
An elegant and petite wall console table crafted out of gilt bronzed metal and variegated green marble in a French Napoleonic Second Empire style. The table features a two-legged con...
Marble, Metal
French Empire Giltwood Sphinx Console Table with Triangular Design
Located in Queens, NY
French Empire gilt sphinx carved triangular console table with black painted top.
Giltwood
Pair of Early 19th Century French Empire Walnut Wall Consoles with Marble Top
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate two small corners or entry spaces with this elegant pair of wall-mounted consoles, crafted in France circa 1820. Each petite table is composed of a triangular body with a bo...
Marble, Bronze
Grand French Empire Mahogany Gilt Bronze Mounted Console Table
Located in Benington, Herts
A Very Fine and Extremely Large Mahogany Empire Period Console Dessert With Finely Cast Gilt Bronze Mounts French Paris Circa 1815-25 The present piece of furniture is rather ...
Mahogany
19th Century Italian Console Table
Located in Allerum, SE
19th century Italian gilded and painted console table from the Empire period in it's original condition. Ca 1810, Italy.
Wood
Empire Style Console Table
Located in WEST PALM BEACH, FL
This is a very sophisticated Empire style console table, the ebonized plank top, over an ebonized wall centered with a carved parcel gilt la...
Ebony, Satinwood
$11,229Sale Price|20% Off
Elegant Italian Empire Consoles Tables with White Marble Top, 1815
Located in Rome, IT
Empire mahogany and finely carved gilt-wood consoles tables with the rectangular Carrara white marble top. Timeless elegance for your interior. Measures: Height cm 102 width cm 124...
Mahogany
Early 19th Century French Empire Period Mahogany Console Table with Marble Top
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This early nineteenth century French Empire period mahogany console table features columns at the front corners and a black marble top. A single drawer of dovetail construction fits ...
Marble, Bronze
Empire Italian console in black marble, bronze and walnut wood, 1820-1830s
Located in MIlano, IT
Empire Italian console in black marble, bronze and walnut wood, 1820-1830s Console with rectangular top in Belgian black marble. The structure and legs are in veneer in walnut feathe...
Marble, Bronze
Antique Victorian Carved Oak Console Table
Located in London, GB
A large and very impressive antique Victorian carved oak console table. This was made in England, it dates from around the 1840-1860 period. It is of extremely fine quality, with a ...
Oak
Empire Style Marble Console Table, Carved Legs, France, 19th Century
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Marble console table, from the Empire period, and following the Empire style. The shape of the legs make this console table very original; Its originality comes from the shape of the...
Marble
19th Century Italian Console with Marble Top
Located in Millbrook, NY
Italian Marble Console Table. Exquisitely hand carved wood table with floral details, carved tassels and animal "hoof" legs. Crafted with intricate detailing with bronze and silver a...
Carrara Marble
Early 19th Century French Empire Period Marble Top Console ~ Pier Table
Located in Dallas, TX
Early 19th Century French Empire Period Marble Top Console ~ Pier Table is an amazing example of the style that launched a revolution felt around the Western World. Highly talented ...
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Early 19th Century French Empire Large Neoclassical Walnut Console Table
Located in Berlin, DE
Early 19th century French Empire Large Neoclassical Walnut Console Table An elegant Empire period console table with a with marble top above a frieze d...
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Early 19th Century Empire Console Table in Cherry Wood and Marble Top
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
We present this elegant small Italian console table from the Empire period, dating back to the early 19th century. This console table possesses a unique historical charm, perfect for...
Marble, Bronze
Early 19th Century Swedish Empire Console Table, Birch and ebonised wood
Located in Madrid, EX
Early 19th Century Swedish Empire Console Table made of ebonised wood and birch wood, with column legs. This striking console stands out due to ...
Birch
Pair of French 19th Century Empire St. Mahogany, Ormolu and Marble Consoles
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A stunning and most impressive pair of French 19th century Empire st. Mahogany, ormolu, and Vert de Patricia marble consoles. Each freestanding one drawer two tiered console is raise...
Marble, Ormolu
A pair of French 19th century Mahogany, Ormolu and white Carrara marble consoles
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An elegant pair of French 19th century Empire st. Mahogany, Ormolu and white Carrara marble consoles. This wonderful pair of consoles is raised by an impressive and thick bottom Maho...
Carrara Marble, Ormolu
19th Century French Empire Mahogany, Gilt and Marble Topped Dressing Table
By François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter
Located in London, GB
Constructed using a fine Honduras mahogany with gilt highlights, Bleu Tarquin marble and richly dressed with fire gilt ormolu mounts of the highest quality. The table of lyre end sup...
Marble, Ormolu
French Empire Gilt Bronze and Mahogany Console Table
Located in London, GB
French Empire gilt bronze and mahogany console table French, early 19th Century Height 92cm, width 120cm, depth 51cm This elegant console table is a superb example of French Emp...
Marble, Ormolu
$30,644 / set
Pair of 19th Century Empire Console Tables
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A large pair of 19th Century Empire console tables with green marble tops and large scale ormolu mounts. With symmetrical eagle motifs on the legs and in the bottom centre, the style...
Marble
Empire style console leg. Resin. 20th century.
Located in Madrid, ES
Figure located on a rectangular base with fine moldings. A claw gives way to an oval shape from which emerge two wings with the tips rolled forward (with some lines of Persian air) a...
Other
Early 19th Century Swedish Console Table
Located in Shipston-On-Stour, GB
A stylish Early C19th Swedish console table, the original Carrara marble top above a giltwood base with carved acanthus and fish scale frieze, raised twin monopodium supports with c...
Marble
Antique Empire Marble Top Mahogany Pier Table, 19th C.
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An antique Empire style marble top, mahogany veneered pier table, features a single drawer. The whole is raised on four cushion form feet with trestle style support. Fabulous scroll...
Marble
French 19th Century Empire Style Flamed Mahogany, Ormolu and Marble Console
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A most impressive French mid 19th century Empire st. flamed mahogany, ormolu and marble console, with one drawer. The console is raised by a striking bottom tier which showcases the ...
Marble, Ormolu
20th-C. Neo-Classical Style Banded Burl Walnut Console Table By Baker Furniture
Located in Kennesaw, GA
This is a late 20th century Neo-classical or Empire style Burl walnut veneer console table by Baker Furniture. It has brass banding and ormolu. The single drawer is dovetailed and ha...
Brass
Pair of Italian Mid-19th Century Empire Style Mahogany Consoles from Naples
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A sensational pair of Italian mid 19th century Empire st. freestanding flamed mahogany consoles from Naples, Italy. The consoles are raised by double mottled rectangular bases with b...
Marble, Brass
French Empire Style Console Jardinere, 19th Century
Located in El Monte, CA
This unique French Empire-stye console table, which also functions as a jardinere, is a masterpiece of neoclassical design infused with Empire motifs. Featuring a demilune shape, the...
Marble, Bronze
Swedish Giltwood Early 19th Century Empire Console Table
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A fine, giltwood Swedish console table, possibly by the Stockholm master cabinet maker Lundelius (1778-1823). The wooden top in faux marble painted, the base plinth is painted black....
Giltwood
$9,200
French Empire Console
Located in Woodbury, CT
French empire console in figured walnut with one large drawer, flanked by bronze mounted columns with shelf below and an unusually coloured pale ...
Marble
Early 19th century French Empire Period Burl Elm Console Table with Marble Top
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This small scale early nineteenth century French Empire period console table is constructed of solid burl elm and features a black marble top. A single drawer of dovetail constructio...
Marble
Unusual Early 19th Century Swedish Carved Giltwood Console Table
Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE
A very decorative and unusual Swedish giltwood and ebonized console table with a white marble top supported by two sculptural griffins (part eagle, part sea creature).
Marble
French 19th Century Empire Console
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A petite French mahogany Empire console with its original marble top. A single drawer is housed in the apron over a pair of column form front legs with neoclassical style brass capit...
Marble, Brass
20th Century Swedish Empire Console in Carved, Polychrome and Gilded Wood
Located in Miami, FL
Swedish Empire console table in carved, polychrome and gilt wood, early 20th century. Rectangular marble top in a low white, frieze decorated with leaves and legs with winged Egyptia...
Wood
Walnut and Gray Marble Empire Console, circa 1880
Located in Locust Valley, NY
Walnut and gray marble Empire console, circa 1880. Carved legs with leaf curved design on front legs and reeded legs in back.
Marble
19th Century French Empire Style Trumeau Wall Mirror with Matching Console Table
Located in Madrid, ES
19th century French Empire style trumeau mirror with matching console table, featuring a decorative mythological "Verre Églomisé" reverse paint...
Bronze
Empire Wall Console with Marble Top, Early 19th Century
Located in Greding, DE
Empire wall console with white marble top and mirrored back panel. The mirror glass is period and shows age-related spotting. The console features a drawer and is veneered in mahoga...
Marble, Bronze
Corner Console Table, France 1800, Mahogany
Located in Belmont, MA
This elegant little Empire corner console table is embellished with mahogany veneer and pretty brass decorations. It is in very good, professio...
Brass
Fabulous Demi-Lune Console, Jardiniere, Mirror available, 1810, Empire, Austria
Located in Wien, AT
Wonderful demi-lune console, usable as jardiniere, made around 1810 in Austria, an original of the Empire era. This wonderful wall console has a faceted mirror in the lower area. Th...
Sheet Metal
$30,000 / set
Pair of Empire Console Tables
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Empire Console Tables. France, early 19th century.
Marble
$11,180 / set
Pair of Empire Style Mahogany Console Tables
Located in Westwood, NJ
French Empire style mahogany veneered console table with two drawers. Fine geometric herringbone inlays throughout and raised on tapering square legs and a Y-frame stretcher. Dime...
Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Empire Console Table
Located in Allerum, SE
Fine 19th century painted and gilded Swedish Empire console table with an Carrara marble top. ca 1820 Sweden.
Carrara Marble
French 19th Century Empire Mahogany Console
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A French 19th century mahogany console in the Empire style with dark stone top. The gray, Saint Anne-type marble is in wonderful ...
Marble
French Empire Early 19th Century Walnut Console Tables with Grey Marble Tops
Located in Atlanta, GA
A pair of French Empire period walnut veneered console tables from the early 19th century, with dark grey marble tops, bronze mounts and tw...
Marble, Bronze
Antique Empire Style Painted Marble Top Console Table
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Antique Empire Style painted marble top console table, circa 1900. The paint is later. With a rectangular marble top, a frieze drawer, two columns with gilt highlights, resting on a ...
Marble
19th Century French Empire Console Table
Located in Stahnsdorf, DE
19th Century French Empire Console. France, 1810 Mahogany, Beautiful Empire Period Mahogany and Mahogany Veneer Console, resting on Front Columns and Rear Pilasters. This Console is...
Mahogany
A beautiful 19th century Empire mahogany and parcel gilt marble top console
Located in Dallas, TX
A very fine 19th century Empire French mahogany and parcel gilt mirror backed console. The reverse side is a hidden back with two drawers and a marble top shelf.
Mahogany
Vintage French Empire Style Painted Console Table Mid 20th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful vintage French Empire style painted gilded and ormolu mounted console table, Mid 20th century in date. The rectangular faux marble top with an ormolu plaque to t...
Ormolu
19th Century Regency Ebony Inlaid Cross-Banded Crotch Mahogany Fold Top Table
Located in Germantown, MD
19th Century Regency Empire Ebony Inlaid Crotch Cross-Banded Mahogany Fold Top Table. Measures 36" in width, 17.75" in depth and 25.75" in height. Closed. Open, it is 35" in. Depth.
Mahogany, Ebony
French Empire Style Mahogany Console with Gilt Bronze Mounts and a Mirrored Back
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A classic 19th century French Empire cuban mahogany console fronted by round columns with gilt bronze capitals and a top rail of the centered by a gilt bronze mount featuring ...
Bronze
$2,795Sale Price|27% Off
French Empire Mahogany Table with Gold Gilt Ormolu Mounts and Black Granite Top
Located in Savannah, GA
"The French Empire style which impacted furniture design and other arts was popular from about 1804 to 1815, lasting longer in some areas. It developed in France under the reign of e...
Granite, Brass
Antique English Empire Console Writing Side Table, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful small antique English Empire Gonçalo Alves console with integral writing slide and pen drawer, circa 1820 in date. This dual purpose table has a drawer above a p...
Wood
Empire French Mahogany Console Table
Located in Woodbury, CT
Second Empire French Mahogany and parcel gilt console table with varigated marble top and single drawer.
Marble
Fine and Exceptional Empire Pier Table
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A 19th century classical Empire pier console table having a beveled rectangular marble top above an Ogee mahogany veneered apron raised on carved and gilt white Alabaster Ionic colum...
Alabaster
Empire Demilune Lyre Console in Mahogany with St. Anne Marble Top
Located in Dallas, TX
A graceful Empire style demilune console in mahogany, crowned with a richly veined St. Anne marble top. The half-moon form gives the piece an elegant architectural presence, while t...
Marble, Brass
French Empire Style Half Round Bracket Console Table
Located in Queens, NY
French Empire style mahogany half round bracket console table with bronze doré trim and green marble top, 19th century.
Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Empire Marble Top Bronze Ormolu Paw Feet Console Hall Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
19th Century French Empire Marble Top Bronze Ormolu Paw Feet Console Hall Table. Finely cast bronze ormolu, paw feet, gold gilt accents, bronze inlay,...
Marble, Bronze
$5,680Sale Price|64% Off
Spanish Empire Console Table with Mirror in Mahogany, circa 1810
Located in Miami, FL
Fine Spanish Empire console with mirror in mahogany and rosewood with satinwood inlays, circa 1810.
Rosewood
Elegant Italian Empire Consoles Tables with White Marble Top, 1815
Located in Rome, IT
Empire mahogany and finely carved gilt-wood consoles tables with the rectangular Carrara white marble top. Timeless elegance for your interior. Measures: Height cm 102 width cm 124, ...
Mahogany