Comments on: “Empire” Furniture Isn’t Always Empire Furniture

By: Donna M. Rautenstrauch

Donna M. Rautenstrauch — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:44:55 +0000

It was refreshing to come across this information.
I now know what I had been looking at in so many local estate sales is actually Late Classical and not Empire.

By: Mystery Chair – Neo-Classical or Nouveau? | Rare Victorian

Mystery Chair – Neo-Classical or Nouveau? | Rare Victorian — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:50:16 +0000

[...] which we all know ended around 1820 per the Rare Victorian Guide on the Classical Period. Something from the 1830s-1850s would be regarded as “Late Classical”. Maybe a fine [...]

By: Victorian Furniture Makers’ Careers Span Periods | Rare Victorian

Victorian Furniture Makers’ Careers Span Periods | Rare Victorian — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:38:07 +0000

[...] Gothic Revival and Rococo Revival furniture. His career began in the 1830s so he probably made Late Classical furniture as [...]

By: RareVictorian

RareVictorian — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:22:41 +0000

Glad everyone liked Hollie’s article. I had a feeling this era had to get cleared up.

monkecmonkedo – I noticed that same thing about the Neal Auction.

Personally, I am holding out for a nice Philadelphia Anthony Quervelle piece. I’ve been studying his forms so that I can snag one someday that isn’t identified as such. I believe the table I saw at the Antiques Roadshow is possibly by him.

By: hollie

hollie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:53:44 +0000

Thanks for the warm welcome! It is one of those things that you see everywhere once you begin to notice it, isn’t it? And James, you are so right – Late Classical is so very affordable right now, and personally, I think its dramatic but understated qualities make it a good fit for just about any home. It’s certainly not often “rare Victorian,” but it has its perks!

I’ll have to do a little looking into the Empire Revival/Second Empire. My gut instinct is that the style still lent itself to mass production, and I think, if my European history courses serve me well, that we can thank France for the second revival as well. Napoleon III (Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew) staged a coup in 1851 and set about recreating the Napoleonic Empire – what we now know as the Second French Empire. Reviving the Empire style would certainly have been a part of that nationalistic effort, and with the normal delay in the adoption of fashions, would have been timed just about right to arrive in America as the Empire Revival.

By: james conrad

james conrad — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:29:34 +0000

I almost forgot, welcome to the board Hollie!!!

By: james conrad

james conrad — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:25:40 +0000

Yeah, very good analysis of these styles. I would note that while early empire can be pricey, late clasical is a very good buy & affordable these days.

By: monkecmonkedo

monkecmonkedo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:18:43 +0000

The Neal Auction Summer Estates Catalogue is online and I now note their proper use of Late Classical. Amazing how I never noticed it before. Thanks Hollie and RV!

http://www.nealauction.com/indexnet.html

By: Charles

Charles — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:37:35 +0000

This was and INCREDIBLY enlightening article. Thanks to RV for putting this up. This has cleared up numerous misconceptions and confusion that I have had over these periods for years. I can now look at furniture from this period with a new appreciation and understanding. I see quite a bit of furniture in the deep south that is just lumped together at auctions and shops as “empire and even called Federal”, but most of it I now realize is Late Classical or Empire Revival. Now I know the difference! Thanks RV!!

By: Canadian maple

Canadian maple — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:03:43 +0000

The American late classical style is the equivalent of the Biedermeier style in Germany, the Netherlands and Northern Europe. In England this style is called William IV or late Regency. In France it is called Louis Phillipe. When scholars began to study furniture the worked within the boundaries of their respective countries and with not a small measure of nationalistic spirit. On the English, French, Germans and American gave their version of the international late classical style it own name. But it is just one style done a little differently in each country.