The Restoration period arrived on the heels of defeat after Waterloo ended the Napoleonic dream of grandeur. The two brothers of Louis XVI reigned during this period: the comte of Provence who reigned as Louis XVIII (1815-23) and the comte d'Artois, Charles X (1823-1830) who was the last of the Bourbon kings. They sought to revive the culture of the former monarchy. The Restoration was a reaction to the pomp of the Empire. It fostered an elegance and refinement that was lacking in the grandeur of the Napoléon period. Mahogany was deemed too heavy and was replaced by blond woods. Smaller pieces of furniture in small reception rooms and boudoirs came back into fashion. However, the Restoration continued in the neoclassical tradition and can be seen as a refinement of the Empire style.

Abroad
England: The Regency
Italy: Late Neoclassicism
Spain: Neoclassicism

Furniture
The basic shapes of Empire pieces survive but with softer lines. Elegance and unpretentious harmony characterize the Restoration style. The furniture of this period is comfortable, gracious and portable.

Materials and Techniques
The use of veneer, solid-wood construction, and inlay work were all employed adeptly by the skilled craftsmen of the day. The use of light wood against dark wood grounds is typical, but during the reign of Charles X, inlays of dark wood were set into blond grounds. The darks woods used were mahogany, rosewood, and purple wood. The choice of woods available was large and blond woods included varnished elm, ash, plane tree, bird's eye maple, burr thuya, sycamore, orange wood, citronnier, olive wood and acacia.

Bronze fittings are used more sparingly than under the Empire. Marble used on furniture tops can be pale gray with subtle veining, white or, less often, black. The corners of the tops are now rounded with cyma profiles on their fore-edges.

Ornament
Restoration ornament is light and refined. Moldings, now thin and delicate, reappear, having been abandoned during the Empire. Tulip moldings (cyma reversa moldings) are introduced at the tops of secretaries and commodes. Some Empire motifs survive such as palmettes, cornucopias, stars, swans, lyres and dolphins. However, they are in simplified form and are more stylized with a new lightness to them in comparison to their solemn Empire counterparts. Geometric motifs include squares, lozenges, rectangles, octagons and ellipses but less frequently than in Empire furniture. Ribbons are especially common. Allegorical and antique motifs become more rare. Gothic motifs such as decorative rose windows and Gothic tracery appear.


Source: Chadenet, Sylvie. French Furniture from Louis XIII to Art Deco. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001.