Louis Philippe Furniture
1830 - 1848
The Louis Philippe style in France followed the same general pattern as the furniture of the French Restoration but perhaps with more emphasis on comfort and a darkening of tone.
Louis Philippe Chair, circa 1830.
Louis Philippe Chairs
Chairs shapes changed, becoming more rounded with softer, smoother lines. Chair arms were decorated with scroll work and front legs put in an s-shape, ending in a scroll up to the corner blocks.
Cathedral Style
Another notable fashion in the Louis Philippe furniture period was the "style a la cathedrale" which came to prominence around 1825. Louis Philippe chairs kept the same shape consistent with the period but were decorated with gothic architectural designs in sculpted form. Such chairs sported crenelated top rails and foliate spandrels. Decorative details now usually were carved by machines with a flatter appearance.
Wood
During the reign of Louis Philippe, the color, grain, and quality of the wood became more a focus of design. Wood was painted in black, decorated with gilt with painted decoration, and sometimes veneered.
Jardiniere, 1835.
Clear, light wood lost out to darker woods. Mahogany and palissandre were still employed while ebony and other darkened wood such as beech and pear tree came into use. Flood, sycamore, wild cherry, magnifying glass of elm, maple, root of if reddish, thuya were also common woods of the age.
Gothic Cabinet, 1836.
The Gothic cathedral style was an example of the popularity of reproduction furniture which occupies our interest in the following era of Napoleon III.