Superb photographs, many taken expressly for this volume, exhibit gorgeous objects decorated with a wealth of antique motifs—columns, arches, laurel wreathes, acanthus leaves, eagles, Egyptian hieroglyphs—created by master French furniture-makers, silversmiths, jewelers, and porcelain and textile manufacturers. Figures of Fame and Victory abound, and furniture, vases, porcelains, and even silverware display an antique style that projects the aura of imperial majesty. 

 

About the author Odile Nouvel-Kammerer is the Curator of Nineteenth-Century Art at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris. She has authored numerous publications and also teaches the history of interior design and furniture at the École Camondo’s school of interior architecture and design.