Our history
A passion for Boulle furniture and the decorative arts of the Second Empire, turned into a profession: hunting, restoring and passing on.
Specialists in period Napoleon III Boulle furniture
La Galerie Napoléon III brings together two antique dealers specialising in Boulle marquetry and period Second Empire furniture: side cabinets, desks and bonheurs-du-jour, display cabinets, caskets, liqueur cellarettes and works of art. Online since 2014, the gallery operates from two locations, in Saintes (Charente-Maritime) and Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais).
Under the Second Empire, the taste for luxury and detail reached its height: tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, gilt bronzes, black lacquer. It is this heritage that we rigorously select, piece by piece, to offer authentic furniture, restored or in excellent overall condition.
The workshop, heart of the gallery
Our cabinetmaking workshops, in the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Pas-de-Calais, work every week on the restoration of your future furniture. Our cabinetmakers, trained at the École Boulle and through the French compagnonnage, restore according to the rules of the art, combining traditional techniques with modern know-how.
Napoleon III furniture is made of many materials: wood and veneers, but also bronzes, marbles, porcelain, leathers, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl. To preserve its full authenticity through each restoration, we work with the finest French houses — furniture bronze worker, master leather worker, marble workshop.
Hunt, restore, pass on
Everything begins with the search: we buy Boulle-style marquetry furniture and objects from the Napoleon III period, whatever their condition. Each piece is then studied, documented and entrusted to the workshop before joining the gallery's catalogue.
Our conviction: a period piece is more than a purchase, it is an investment. We freely share our expertise — market prices, the great cabinetmakers, care, spotting copies — so that every acquisition is made with complete confidence. And if a piece is missing from your collection, we will search for it on your behalf.