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Early American A period in the design of American furniture during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The designs were simple and rugged generally made of solid wood, especially pine, maple, birch, and oak. The furniture was copied largely from English Jacobean and William and Mary styles.

earthenware A type of pourous pottery that requires a glaze to make it waterproof. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

ebéniste - French term meaning "cabinet maker" designating a high-grade craftsman specializing in the art of veneering.

ebonizing The staining of wood to black to resemble ebony, a common decorative technique used in Louis XIV furniture.

ebony The name given to several different woods that are very dark in color, sometimes dark brown or green to black in color.

egg-and-dart A decorative motif of classical origin consisting of ovoid or egg shapes alternating with dart-like points.

elm A uniform and fine textured wood with a light brownish-red color tinged with darker brown ring marks

embossing A process of stamping, hammering or molding a material so that a design protrudes beyond the surface.

Emile Galle Galle, Emile - (1846-1904) French glassmaker, potter and cabinetmaker renowned for his stunning Art Nouveau pieces which revitalized the decorative arts industry at the turn of the century. Galle's design interests reflected the contemporary taste for botany and entomology, and his techniques were innovative and quite productive. In 1874, Galle established his own glass shop in Nancy creating pieces that amazed the public at several Exposition Universelles in Paris. He introduced his glasswares in 1878 and his complex marquetry furniture pieces in 1889. Galle's talent was widely recognized and he was elected to the prestigious Legion d'honneur in 1900.

Empire “It’s so modern!” visitors exclaim upon seeing Josephine Bonaparte’s dining room at the Château de Malmaison outside Paris. Created in 1800 by Empire architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, the decor features a black-and-white marble-tiled floor, muted wall paintings of Pompeian dancers and musicians, and an oval mahogany table surrounded by 12 scroll-backed chairs. With its classic elegance and decorative restraint, the room perfectly expresses the simplicity and modernity that continue to make the early Empire period such a beguiling contrast to the more-is-more aesthetic of the 18th century. Malmaison visitors are not alone in their admiration of Empire style. As the public focuses on this year’s bicentennial celebration of Napoleon’s coronation as emperor, furnishings of that period appear poised for another revival. Out of fashion since the last Empire boom (which lasted from the mid-’80s to the mid-’90s), these pieces are now fetching higher prices at auction. And longtime collectors—many of them American—are suddenly finding themselves bidding against New Russian entrepreneurs, who are increasingly enthusiastic about the emperor and his style. Just what is Empire style? Most art historians associate it with the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte as he battled his way to fame, fortune and ultimate sovereign power during the Directoire (1795-1799), the Consulat (1799-1804) and, finally, the Empire (1804-1815). Interior decoration, however, rarely marches in lockstep with political regimes. “For me, Empire has only two periods,” declares Malmaison chief curator Bernard Chevallier. He defines the first as beginning in 1795 and ending post-coronation, around 1806 to 1808. When Empire connoisseurs rave about the elegant mahogany furnishings inspired by the simple lines of ancient Greece and Italy, they are usually talking about this period, which was characterized by ebony and pewter inlay along with delicate gilded bronze mounts. Furnishings from the second period, which Chevallier claims lasted through the Restoration of Louis XVIII and Charles X, were quite different. Imperial palace etiquette required ceremonial furniture worthy of an emperor and his court. The result was a heavy, ostentatious official style. These solid statement pieces were loaded with gilt; the mahogany so popular in early Empire could not get through Napoleon’s 1806 blockade, and so was replaced by gilded domestic woods. “A little Greek, a little Roman, a little Egyptian: Put it in the mixer, and that is Empire style,” sums up Chevallier. Indeed, the ubiquitous elements of Empire style—palmettes and lyres, swans and sphinxes, masks, caryatids, Egyptian heads and lions’ muzzles and paws—run through both periods. And according to this curator’s provocative theory, many of these motifs can in fact be traced back to the 1780s and the reign of Louis XVI. At the time, he points out, French interiors were already moving toward the Neoclassical, inspired by the 1719 excavation of Herculaneum and the 1750 rediscovery of Pompeii, which yielded a wealth of information on interior decoration. In his book Style Empire, Chevallier reveals that one of the earliest proponents of the new Greco-Roman simplicity was none other than that milkmaid manqué Marie-Antoinette, who commissioned painter Hubert Robert (famous for his landscapes of romantic ruins) to design chairs for her Rambouillet dairy based on a Herculaneum model. Made in 1787, the scroll and lattice-backed chairs are almost identical to a set delivered to the Tuileries Palace 12 years later, and they are close cousins to those produced for Josephine’s dining room at Malmaison. And while the introduction of Egyptian motifs is often attributed to Bonaparte’s return from Egypt after his military campaign in 1799, Chevallier notes that the roots of France’s Egyptomania actually reach back to the ancien régime. Already in 1787, renowned cabinetmaker Georges Jacob had added an exquisitely carved winged sphinx to a fauteuil destined for Marie-Antoinette’s boudoir at the Château de Fontainebleau. (Interestingly, Pompeii was caught up in its own Egyptomania when Vesuvius erupted.) Whatever its origins, the simplicity and modernity of this new style appealed to a Parisian elite that was tentatively stepping into the social spotlight after surviving the Revolution and its aftermath of terror. Celebrated beauty Juliette Récamier, the young wife of a successful banker, was one of the first to embrace the new fashion. In 1798, she commissioned Louis Berthault, a student of Charles Percier, to decorate her townhouse. Society flocked—from as far away as England and Germany—to admire the Greco-Roman friezes and wall panels, marble floors and mahogany furniture. The decorative summit was Mme Récamier’s bedroom, furnished with armchairs embellished with sculpted sphinxes, her famous chaise longue and a boat-shaped solid mahogany bed decorated with sculpted bronze swans and gilt-bronze mounts à l’antique. It caused a sensation, was widely copied and definitively launched the new style. Soon after, Josephine and Napoleon bought Malmaison and hired Percier and Fontaine to renovate the 17th- and 18th-century country estate. The architects, who had studied in Rome between 1786 and 1790, went on to publish books of drawings that were used by cabinetmakers and bronze craftsmen to create detailed reproductions of the new decorative motifs. Working for the rising young general and his stylish wife (Percier and Fontaine also redid the Tuileries and Saint-Cloud palaces) made them famous, and their books influenced a generation of architects throughout Europe. “Napoleon’s policy was to relaunch a luxury industry that had been ruined by the Revolution. Like Louis XIV and Colbert, he wanted to encourage craftsmanship,” explains Chevallier. “When Napoleon moved into the former crown palaces, he found them empty. Everything had been sold, and he spent huge sums to refurnish hundreds of rooms. Enormous commissions notably went to the Jacobs, who made hundreds and hundreds of pieces of furniture.” One of the most famous French furniture-making dynasties, the Jacob family began its rise to fame with patriarch Georges Jacob, a highly creative cabinetmaker who started his career under Louis XVI. His sons, Georges II and François-Honoré-Georges, took over from 1796 to 1802, signing their pieces—which included the original Malmaison dining room chairs—Jacob Frères. When Georges II died, François-Honoré-Georges worked with his father under the name Jacob-Desmalter; during the go-go Empire years, this family business employed no fewer than 300 craftsmen. Massive orders also went to the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, which produced hand-painted dinner services and Greco-Roman inspired vases and urns for both the emperor’s personal use and gifts. Goldsmiths and silversmiths, such as Martin-Guillaume Biennais and Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, were also kept busy as were bronze makers (including the famous Pierre-Philippe Thomire) and Lyonnais silk weavers. “In 1811, Napoleon considered living at Versailles, and he ordered 32 miles of silk for the apartments,” Chevallier relates. Within a few short years, Napoleon managed to impose his style on châteaux ranging from Fontainebleau, Compiègne, Rambouillet and the Grand Trianon to Monte-Carvallo in Rome and the Palais Laeken in Belgium. The end of the emperor was not, however, the end of Empire. Napoleon had put his family on various European thrones, and those thrones were in Empire style. Many European countries—Italy, Spain, Sweden, Germany and especially Russia—produced their own takes on Empire as late as 1840; even distant America had a French-influenced Empire style. Meanwhile back in France, the Restoration—Louis XVIII and Charles X—continued to produce Empire styles that finally became rather decadent. Like its begetter, Empire style has had its ups and downs: Fashionable in the 1970s, it fell out of favor until the mid-’80s, when prices soared. “Then, almost from one day to the next, it was out again,” remarks Bill Pallot, an 18th-century furniture and art expert for the Paris antique dealer Didier Aaron. “It takes only two or three big collectors to stop buying for everyone else to follow suit. Dealers were left with a lot of Empire pieces on their hands.” Today, the style seems poised for another renaissance. “Prices are slowly coming back. The Russians are strong in the market—Empire evokes their grand period of decorative arts,” notes Pallot. He cites the examples of Christie’s June auction and last fall’s two Empire sales at Sotheby’s in Paris. Especially successful was the October sale of Barbara Piasecka Johnson’s collection, with several pieces commanding six figures. “Empire collectors are a passionate group, and the bicentennial has accentuated that interest,” says expert Pierre-François Dayot of Sotheby’s, which has already scheduled its next Empire sale for December 2—200 years to the day after Napoleon’s coronation. “The Empire market has two speeds. There are many classic pieces available, and they are not too expensive. A mahogany commode, for example, will go for €4-5,000, a secretary desk for €2-3,000,” he says. “But very beautiful Empire furniture is extremely rare. It is a style that required great technical expertise, especially the bronze work. Extraordinary pieces make for very high prices, and my feeling is that Empire furniture has not yet reached its peak.” Claire Galteau, a furniture and objet d’art expert at Christie’s, says she sees different buying patterns in the market. “Americans buy individual pieces of good quality but rarely furnish their entire house in Empire. Russians, however, will do their homes completely in Empire and especially in French Empire because it was the inspiration for all of Europe.” And although the market has risen, she too surmises that it is far from reaching its potential. “There are fewer beautiful 18th-century pieces on the market, and when you do find them, they are out of most everyone’s price range,” she explains. Another factor in Empire’s favor is the advent of young buyers who want beautiful things but also want to live with them. “The pure, simple lines of Empire pieces are easier to live with than elaborate 18th-century giltwood furniture,” she says. “These days, no one has a living room that they use only two or three times a year.” An early indication of this renewed interest came in 2000, when Paris antiquaire Ariane Dandois inaugurated her Place Beauveau gallery with a stunning “Empire Across Europe” exhibition. On view were outstanding pieces from France, Spain, Russia and Italy, all dating from 1800 to 1830. “The influence of Empire style was much more enduring outside France,” she says. “The French are versatile—we move on to other things.” A longtime advocate of Empire’s “very masculine, strict taste,” Dandois feels that the reason so many people have rejected this style is that they simply haven’t seen beautiful Empire furniture. “It can’t tolerate mediocrity,” she maintains. “It must be presented with objects of the same quality.” Which is precisely what she plans to do this September at the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires. The splendid Empire pieces at her stand will include a mahogany secretary desk and chiffonnier that belonged to Prince Roland Bonaparte and a Sèvres vase with painted figures of Victory crowning Napoleon with a laurel wreath. In 1811, the emperor gave the vase to his sister, Caroline Murat, queen of Naples, as a New Year’s gift. Yet another sign of Empire’s comeback can be seen in Fontainebleau. Three years ago, 30-year-old Jean-Christophe Chataignier set up an Empire department across from the château for the auction house Osenat. It was the first of its kind. His interest was initially personal, and he chose Fontainebleau for its proximity to the château’s unique Napoleon collections. “I imagined I’d be selling pieces like those across the street,” he says with a smile. “But I soon learned that most of the very beautiful Empire furniture is already in the palace museums or owned by the descendents of Napoleon’s marshals or the Imperial family.” Chataignier’s sales, which concentrate on Napoleona and objects with historical associations, have attracted a clientele of American and Russian collectors. A highlight of last February’s sale was the boat-shaped mahogany bed with sculpted and gilded bronze mounts that belonged to the Duke of Padua, one of Napoleon’s cousins. It went for €55,000. While most of the Empire action takes place in Paris, several dealers are taking up the Russian challenge and exhibiting at this year’s first Moscow World Fine Arts Fair, held at the Dolgorukov Palace museum. “For clients who are just getting into the art market, Empire is easier to understand and less expensive than 18th-century pieces,” says antiquaire Marella Rossi. “Russians in their thirties and forties who have made fortunes in oil, finance and high tech adore Empire.” What’s more, adds dealer Flore de Brantes, “Russians are not low profile; they love gilt.” She is heading to Moscow with a black, gilded and patinaed bronze chandelier valued at €45,000, and a large 12-light crystal and bronze chandelier that she hopes will fetch €70,000. New York decorator Juan-Pablo Molyneux will also attend the fair, where he will lecture on the influence of Russian Neoclassical architecture on the West. “Usually, it is the reverse,” he quips. Molyneux specializes in palaces, and he is currently working on a Moscow mansion that is “bigger than St. Petersburg’s Pavlosk.” The flamboyant decorator has already chosen the pièce de résistance for the Empire library: a magnificent 13-foot-wide desk he picked up at the Paris antique shop Aveline. Empire prices may fluctuate, but for a veritable Who’s Who of decorators, affection for the Neoclassical style of early Empire never falters. As Chevallier submits, “Some of Napoleon’s [military] campaign furniture, such as the folding tables, chairs and stools by Jacob, is so extremely modern that it looks as if it could be by Jacques Grange.” Grange himself confirms, “I love the architects who were inspired by antiquity, and I like to mix the 20th century with late-18th century, balancing Empire pieces with today’s lifestyles.” Most decorators agree that Empire is a wonderful ingredient in a mix of periods. “Empire pieces are visually sculptural and make for beautiful accents, but we would never do a whole room in that style,” says Madeleine Deschamps, a New York-based designer at Peter Marino whose lavishly illustrated book, Empire, has just been reissued by Abbeville Press. In Paris, high-flyer Alberto Pinto apparently agrees; he recently blended an Empire bed (with the heady provenance of Pauline Borghese, Napoleon’s beautiful sister) with period Louis XV wood paneling, a Russian Empire desk and Empire-style bedside tables of his own design to create a fabulous Left Bank apartment. Back in the U.S.A., California designer Tim Corrigan has paired a spectacular bronze-decorated Empire desk with a large canvas by Sam Francis in the bedroom of a celebrated television actor. “The contrast of two diverse periods, one formal and straight, the other colorful and splotchy, really works wonderfully,” he says. And this past May, the cover of ELLE Decor featured a Connecticut interior designed by antique dealer Lou Marotta, who blithely mixed an Empire sofa and Swedish Empire chairs with pieces from other periods and countries. So is the U.S. ripe for an Empire revival? In Manhattan, former fashion photographer Roger Prigent is optimistic. In 1978, he opened his antique shop, Malmaison, when his own Empire collections threatened to overrun his apartment. Now, he also offers French Art Deco and mid-century classics, “designs from the ’40s and ’50s, all very fashionable now, that were influenced by the modern lines of Empire furniture.” Empire, however, still occupies a special place in his heart and, he believes, in the history of decorative arts. “Napoleon influenced the world,” he insists. “President James Monroe completely refurbished the White House in French Empire furniture, and when Jackie Kennedy redid the White House, she did the Red Room in Empire.” Mrs. Kennedy and Napoleon have something else in common: “Empire furniture is less expensive than Louis XVI or Louis XV unless it is historic,” affirms Bernard Chevallier. “If Napoleon sat on it, it will cost a fortune, just like the possessions of Jackie Kennedy. But nothing is more expensive than pieces that once belonged to Marie-Antoinette. Tragedy adds a lot of zeros.” So will Louis XVI, his ill-fated queen and the ancien régime have the last laugh? As it happens, the most valuable “Empire” desk on the market isn’t Empire at all, but a Louis XVI bureau plat attributed to Riesener that was originally in the Malmaison library. Antique dealer Jacques Perrin explains that Napoleon is said to have drafted his famous Civil Code at this very desk; to shore up the claim, he has a period drawing showing the emperor seated there. So how much would it cost to be the proud owner of this rarefied bit of history? The current asking price is €1,830,000—but of course, everyone knows that Empire prices are going up... Source: http://www.francemagazine.org/articles/issue70/article95.asp?issue_id=70&article_id=95

Empire A period of Neo-classic design during the reign of Napoleon 1804-14. Greek, Roman, and Egyptian motifs were widely used. The style spread throughout Europe and appeared in America in some of Duncan Phyfe's work.

enamel A painted porcelain decoration in vitreous colors that fuse to the glazed surface during low temperature kiln firing. Enamel sinks deeply into soft-paste porcelain but is not absorbed by hard-paste porcelain

engraving The process of cutting or carving lines into a surface.

épergne A metal or glass center-piece with a bowl at the center and other detachable bowls. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

epergne An ornamental centerpiece usually of glass or silver or a combination of both. Two or more vase-shaped holders are branched upward from a decorative base to hold flowers.

escapement The mechanical part of a clock that regulates the transfer of energy from the weights or spring to the movement. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

eschucheon The protective shield shape plates fixed over keyholes. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

escutcheon Metal plate fitted around a keyhole for protection and decoration or to which a handle or knob can be attached.

etagere Set of free-standing or wall shelves used to display objects, sometimes with drawers or doors.

etchings Prints from a copper plate upon which a drawing or design has been made by a metal tool.

etui French term for case.

excelsior A stuffing for teddy bears made from wood shavings. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3