19th Century Louis XV Commode in Marquetry and Marble, France

Louis XV Style Commode, Marquetry and marble, Napoleon III, s. XIX – France

This small French chest of drawers is made in Louis XV style, Napoleon III period. It presents an impressive ocher marble top with grayish and pearlescent inlays, with a golden brass profile as an openwork balustrade. This beautiful piece of furniture is completely veneered in wood. On the front, two registers of equal size with storage capacity, which present extraordinary marquetry work with a geometric pattern. The ornaments are based on lemongrass fillets with a complex texture, also present on the sides of the dresser. The chest of drawers stands on galvanized legs, the two front ones with sablots. All these fittings (handles, corners, skirt) are made of mercury-gilded bronze and then chiseled. Fine lines, typical of the period in a small chest of drawers of the highest quality, worthy of a place of honor in the home.

More about the Louis XV Style

The Louis XV Style is an artistic style, especially present in the decorative arts, that developed during the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774). Initially the name "Louis XV Style" referred to a characteristic type of chairs, but it soon spread to all the arts of the time. This style was the creation of cabinetmakers as a result of a major technical advance in the manufacture of wooden furniture. It is identified with the architectural style called Rococo. Like Rococo, it has profuse decoration and detail, in contrast to the later "Louis XVI Style", with a simpler trend.

Style and period Napoleon III or Second Empire

The Napoleon III or Second Empire style gets its name because it was born in France at that time. Strictly speaking, the Second Empire was proclaimed in 1852 and ended in 1870, led by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French, although in the artistic sense it extended a few more years (until 1880). This style was very popular among the French bourgeoisie. The emperor himself was involved in the artistic development of the moment, although more closely linked to architecture. However, it is to Empress Eugenie that the evolution of the decorative arts is owed.

Although it is inspired by the styles of the past, starting with Classical Antiquity, the Renaissance, even Louis XVI, much loved by Eugenie, the most representative characteristic of the style is sumptuousness and ostentation, always aspiring to show wealth and opulence.

It is not a style designed specifically for the Second Empire, but a recovery of the different great French styles of previous centuries, a kind of compilation of French decorative trends. Special reference is made to Louis XIV, Louis XV, Baroque and Rococo, and little by little to Louis XVI, with an eclecticist base. In short, the decorative styles that had positioned France at the forefront of interior design and furniture design in Europe, both for quality, originality and beauty.

Style: Louis XV

Materials: Marble, wood marquetry

Period: Napoleon III Era

Country of origin: France

Good condition according to its age and use

Dimensions: 71 x 66 x 46 cm.